Oregon farmers worry berry pickers won’t come to work for fear of ICE — and it could have a ripple effect across the US

Date:2025-07-31 20:14:59 Category:US Views:2 Comment:0

Unger Farms in Cornelius, Oregon has 150 acres of berries in need of picking. And that's hard work.

The farm's berry-picking crew is “the backbone of their business,” reports KGW-TV Portland. But with strict immigration laws coming to a head, there's major concern that berry pickers won't show up to work for fear of deportation.

"People in our community are just worried about what's going to happen next," says Katie Bolton, a fourth-generation farmer.

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A hard day’s work

As a daytime activity, blueberry picking can be a fun and novel experience for families. But as far as work goes, it's extremely tough.

As crew supervisor Manuel Nava Gonzalez explains, "You got to select and choose only the good stuff… It takes time to fill up a bucket."

Because picking berries is such time-consuming, tricky work, Unger Farms relies on its crew to get the job done.

But with so many workers fearing ICE raids, Bolton worries whether people will continue to show up. And as Gonzalez shares, many of his crew members fear deportation. "They hear an airplane come in and worry."

Unfortunately, with the immigration situation still being up in the air, the future of Unger Farms is uncertain. "If we don't have workers to pick the berries, then we don't have a business," Bolton says.

A widespread impact

As Oregon Public Broadcasting reported in June, the Oregon Farm Bureau says members are concerned about immigration raids. That fear was heightened after a Newberg business owner and one of his employees were arrested by ICE officials.

It's estimated that up to one-third of Oregon's agricultural workers do not have legal status in the U.S. If those workers are deported, or scared into not showing up for work, it could have a serious impact on farming on a statewide level.

“Labor is always a concern for farmers because unlike other industries, it requires a labor force that is willing to work,” Austin McClister, a spokesperson for the Oregon Farm Bureau, told Oregon Public Broadcasting. “And most domestic workers don’t apply for jobs. And if we don’t have workers, we don’t get people fed.”

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The Oregon Department of Agriculture states that Oregon typically produces more than 276 million pounds of berries across 20,000 acres of farmland each year. Over 90% of U.S.-grown frozen blackberries come from Oregon and the state is a key producer of blueberries, too.

But if those berries can’t get harvested because workers are terrified to show up for work, it could not only put local farms out of business, but also create a berry shortage that extends well beyond state lines. In fact, the Oregon Department of Agriculture says that its blueberries are exported to 20 countries, so the impact could be far more widespread than people realize.

The Oregon Farm Bureau has put out a resources page to help immigrant workers better understand their rights. It also says that ICE raids in the workplace are still "very uncommon."

On a national level, about 42% of farm workers are not legally authorized to work in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). As such, this issue is not unique to Oregon.

It’s also worth noting that the farming industry is experiencing labor shortages on a whole — not just related to immigration crackdowns, but also due to an aging labor force. According to the USDA, as of 2022, the average U.S. farmer was 58.1 years old.

Due to the grueling nature of farming, it’s not an industry that easily attracts workers. As such, overall participation rates are declining.

The farming industry is, at this point, reliant on migrant workers to remain sustainable. If immigration policies result in massive deportations or a fear-induced labor shortage, it could bankrupt local farms and batter domestic supply chains, leading to a huge reliance on imports.

That could, in turn, lead to higher costs domestically at a time when so many people are already struggling to make ends meet.