Yuma County looking to extend H-2A Visa

News 11’s Valeria Rodriguez shares how the county is pushing federal legislators to extend the H-2A visa used by farm workers

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Finding a way to better support seasonal farm workers across Yuma County.

According to Yuma County’s Economic Development Director, Yuma ships out about 2,000 trucks full of leafy greens a day from October to February.

“These workers are the backbone of the industry," stated Alejandro Figueroa, Yuma County Economic Development Director.

Currently, the H-2A visa, which is used by seasonal farm workers and has a cap of three years.

Figueroa shared what changes they are pushing for.

“Well we’re aiming to have a longer cap, I mean we would, I spoke to the farm bureau and they would like to see an indefinite cap or no cap whatsoever on that," explained Figueroa.

Vice-chairmen of the Yuma County Board of Supervisors shared some of the pushback they have received. 

“Some members of Congress want to tie it directly to illegal immigration or other issues, however we need to address this as a stand-alone just because it has a tremendous effect on the economy," stated Jonathan Lines, Yuma County Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman District 2.

Figueroa explained why this shift would be important for our community.

“So we don’t want to lose those growers to other countries we want to keep them here and we want to make sure they have the labor and all the resources that they need to keep thriving in Yuma County in Arizona and the U.S.," said Figueroa.

He explains the challenges the cap has on not just on the farm workers. 

“It’s really hard on them when they have somebody good and they have to train them, once they know their job very well they have to go back and sometimes they lose those folks," explained Figueroa.

During the harvest season, more than 30,000 truckloads are shipped out from Yuma County fields. 

To make this all possible, Figueroa told Yuma County has about 40,000 people who work in the agricultural industry and about 8,000 rely on the H-2A visa.