Report: Nearly 75,000 foreign farm workers in the U.S. in 2013

There were 74,859 authorized temporary farm workers in the United States in 2013, the Economic Policy Institute said in a report today on all authorized foreign workers by visa classification.

The group estimated that there are 1.42 million authorized workers in all.

The report contains a lengthy section describing each visa classification, including the H2-A category used for seasonal agricultural workers.

EPI said the quality of the data on authorized workers is low.

“The dearth of information on temporary foreign worker programs can make it difficult for federal enforcement agencies to hold perpetrators accountable and protect temporary foreign workers from wage theft, human trafficking, and other abuses,” the report said.

EPI also included a series of recommendations to improve data collection.

–The Hagstrom Report