South County growers are walking a tightrope between trusting the Trump administration to support them while hoping their workers aren’t caught in ICE raids.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in East San Jose have led to concerns about whether immigrant farmworkers will feel safe enough to work during the approaching harvest season, namely across South County’s swaths of arable land. Until the summer harvest is in full swing, the impact of ICE raids on workers, growers and the community is still unclear.
Santa Clara County Division of Agriculture officials, who help combat invasive species and enforce regulations around the accuracy of produce pricing, said they haven’t yet seen any impacts because the summer harvest season is still early. Deputy Agricultural Commissioner Helena Roberts said her office should have a clearer idea by September or October when the produce is at its picking peak.
“The crops are still growing, but we may begin to see labor shortages or a delay on harvests and critical agricultural practices,” Roberts told San José Spotlight. “We may see the cost of labor increasing because the pool of labor might not be as large, which could lead to higher prices. If the situation gets more critical and we have less workers able to work in the fields, we may have extreme cases of growers unable to harvest their crops.”
The gross value of agricultural production in Santa Clara County for 2023 was more than $371 million — an increase of 3.5% from 2022, which was nearly $359 million, according to the 2023 Santa Clara County Crop Report. A 2021 report showed there are roughly 8,000 agricultural workers in the county.
“The United States is dependent on immigrant labor — and when you take away that immigrant labor, it is going to affect every level of society,” Darlene Tenes, an immigrant farmworker advocate, told San José Spotlight. “Some people are just not going to care until it affects them — when the price of food goes up, when there’s no one around to take care of their kid, when construction is impossible to do.”
Growers, meanwhile, are balancing their optimism about President Donald Trump’s farmers-first policy stances with fears about how immigration policies might impact their workforce.
Bill Christopher, managing partner of the famed Christopher Ranch in Gilroy — often referred to as the nation’s largest Garlic producer — said workers are still showing up across the ranch’s thousands of acres. The company counts about 500 full-time employees, and close to 2,000 people in the fields during the summer.
“There’s a little bit of nervousness. That’s what I’ve heard from around the area as well — no one’s not working,” Christopher told San José Spotlight. “I think it’s on everybody’s mind and they’re not quite sure what’s going to happen. And neither are we.”
It’s the same for Chiala Farms, which specializes in peppers and garlic in Morgan Hill.
Tim Chiala, son of founder George Chiala, said he hasn’t felt any effects yet either. Nonetheless, he said the ICE crackdowns are on everyone’s minds.
“My employees are nervous in general. What’s happening is more psychological at this point for them,” Tim Chiala told San Jose Spotlight.
He added his farm relies especially on human hands because his crops are more niche.
“There’s not a mechanical harvest yet for a lot of our products, so we rely a lot on the labor force to come in and harvest,” he said. “And if you miss your windows — a day in the middle of the season — you never get it back. It’s always on our minds.”
Chiala is an officer with the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau, a network of approximately 300 farmers advocating for agricultural interests on the county, state and national level. Chiala said he hasn’t yet seen any farmers reach out to the bureau for help with labor concerns.
He said his and other reputable farms’ workers tend to come from the federal H-2A program, which allows U.S. employers to bring people from Mexico to the United States to fill temporary agricultural jobs. Those workers are viewed as safer or more insulated from immigration enforcement, though still unprotected in other ways.
“A lot of us did turn to H-2A because there was a time when labor was tight and we didn’t want to risk not having crews,” Tim Chiala said. “But I can’t speak for everyone. It’s more expensive and frustrating.”
Christopher said he’d like to see Trump make good on his recent remarks to protect farmworkers. Trump acknowledged earlier this month that ICE operations took “very good, longtime workers away.”
Trump reportedly indicated the administration would pause raids on farms, hotels and other leisure businesses, but the industries have not seen a formal plan from the president.
“Something will have to happen. I don’t know if they’re going to do any kind of amnesty or work program if you’re already employed — a path to get your green card,” Christopher said. “Trump just came out and said they’ve halted all raids on farmworker activity. So that’s good. Especially during the harvest season right now. I’m sure the administration will get something done that’s not going to be adverse to the farmers. Trump’s been a big backer of farms and having a safe food supply in the United States of America.”
Chiala said his farm bureau is confident they can have a dialogue with the Trump administration.
“Most of the agricultural people feel they can work with someone like (Trump) because he is a business person. But who knows what can happen,” he said. “A lot of the reason some of us supported him was to get government out of our lives — not having it be part of our lives every single second.”
The majority of America’s farmworkers are foreign born, and the majority of foreign-born farmworkers are unauthorized, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. More often than not, they are paid less than workers in mining and logging, manufacturing, construction and service industry employees.
Roberts, whose office holds regular training for fieldworkers, said she’s encouraged by last month’s “well attended” session.
“That means people feel safe to come to us,” she said. “I see in other venues, the participation has been really poor. I think it depends on how you engage with them — and if they trust you. Right now, people are afraid.”
Roberts is calling on farmworker employers to prepare their personnel with resources and facts around their rights, such as state guidelines on what employers should do if an immigration enforcement agent seeks to enter their place of business. Santa Clara County also offers online resources such as information about the local Rapid Response Network for ICE encounters.
Tenes said the crackdowns are affecting people who “just want to work.”
“As much as people complain about immigrants, you need them,” she told San José Spotlight. “Our agriculture industry benefits off the back of undocumented labor.”
Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.
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