Migrants play vital role in society

Guest column by John D. Moore

As we travel our country roads, we see them -- field workers, migrant workers. They are real people, migrant families, proudly feeding America.

Catholic Charities Farm Labor Housing rents to migrant workers and families who work in the fields. As the manager, I am often asked about the lives of migrant workers and the problems they face. Migrant workers have had to adjust to an ever-changing world.

Their lives have been impacted by changes in mechanization, increased development, the cost of housing, local and federal laws that affect schooling, housing and work standards. With all of these developments, the faces and cycle of the field worker is constantly evolving.

These changes have shortened the growing season for the field workers, and there is less acreage being planted. This means that the same number of workers can finish planting, weeding and harvesting in less of time.

The machinery being used has streamlined the process even more, causing a four- to six-week lull between planting and weeding. These few weeks of time off greatly affect these workers' ability to make timely rent payments and feed their families.

Very few landlords are willing to rent to these short-term tenants. This forces the workers to sign long-term leases, which means they will lose their deposits when they leave at the end of the season, and they certainly will return home to put their children in school.

Many of these issues have caused some migrant workers to stop coming to Colorado or to travel less with their family. More adults and extended families are traveling and living together in order to afford the rents, and to lower living costs. There has been slight drop in migrants coming into Weld County. Immigrant families who have settled here have filled this void.

Like all immigrant families before them, they are trying to make ends meet. They are willing to do whatever they can to make a living. Sometimes that means working in the fields to help supplement their income.

At this point I would like to distinguish the difference between a migrant and an immigrant. A migrant is someone who leaves his or her permanent home, typically for farm work, and usually for a season, eventually returning home. An immigrant is someone who has moved permanently into a country not of his or her own origin. Many migrants are U.S. citizens who annually travel from the lower regions of Texas and New Mexico.

Let us give thanks to the field worker who toils in the hot sun, doing manual labor for close to minimum wage. Many of them enjoy their lives and love working with plants and soil. Without them to do this important work, the whole agricultural industry would be in trouble, and more importantly, the price of bread, fruits and vegetables would increase.

When people ask about migrant workers, I smile and gently remind them about the agricultural history of Weld County. I ask them to turn to their friends and co-workers, and remember that we all descended from migrants or immigrants. Some of us have just been here a generation or two longer.

<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="100%"><tr><td><img src="/story_photos/columnists/johndmoore.jpg" width="50" height="70" border="0" align="left">John D. Moore serves on the Northern Area Migrant Coalition and is housing manager for Catholic Charities Farm Labor Housing. He can be reached at <a href="ccflhjmoore@hotmail.com" class="rlink" target="_new">ccflhjmoore@hotmail.com</a>.</td></tr></table>