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Migrant workers ensnared in 'slavery' scheme on American farms

09:12
Migrant farmworkers head to pick crops on an early morning in Fresno, Calif., on July 18, 2025. (Damian Dovarganes/AP)
Migrant farmworkers head to pick crops on an early morning in Fresno, Calif., on July 18, 2025. (Damian Dovarganes/AP)

The H-2A visa is supposed to be a win-win. Migrant farmworkers can get a job in the U.S. and support their families back home. Meanwhile, American farms get enough workers to tend their fields without hiring people without legal status.

But a federal investigation known as Operation Blooming Onion exposed widespread abuses of H-2A workers across Georgia, ranging from wage theft to sexual abuse. One judge even referred to what was happening as modern-day slavery.

Here & Now's Robin Young speaks with ProPublica reporter Max Blau.

This segment aired on September 16, 2025.

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