A recent article published by the Statesman highlights the devastating housing conditions many migrant farmworkers are facing across America, and particularly in Texas. The article, aptly titled “Unbelievable” by Jeremy Schawrtz, explains how, in spite of existing laws that require housing facilities for migrant farmworkers to be inspected and licensed to ensure minimal health and safety conditions, many of these properties are never inspected, or, if they are inspected and problems are discovered, the owners of the properties face no penalties.
In fact, as the Statesman’s investigation uncovered, Texas, unlike other agriculture states, provides no funding to ensure safe and sanitary housing facilities for migrant farmworkers. In addition to the lack of funding and lack of inspections, the state agency responsible for inspecting migrant farmworker housing facilities also does not engage in any outreach to determine if unlicensed facilities are being used. Even where complaints do reach the agency, there is frequently no follow-up to determine if the problems reported have been addressed.
To read the article, please click here. The article will be published in print in the Statesman on Sunday.