Migrant

A migrant is a person who leaves their native country or country of birth and goes to another country to live. In the U.S. the term migrant is most frequently associated with what is termed a migrant worker who comes to the U.S. specifically for employment. In the United States migrant workers are predominantly Latino, although many are African-Americans, Haitian, Anglo or Asian. Forty-eight percent of migrant and seasonal farm workers are U.S. citizens or Permanent Residents of the United States.

Migrant workers are allowed to enter the United States by the U.S. Department of Labor to perform work when there are not enough available or qualified workers for labor. This temporary foreign certification program is called the H2A program. Unfortunately, critics of the migrant worker program argue the current program is broken. Workers have a higher mortality rate compared to other Americans, they work in hazardous working conditions, they have high poverty rates and they have limited access to health care. Migrant workers should, however, have protected rights with regard to wages, health and safety standards and workers compensation.