{"id":61766,"date":"2025-03-04T01:00:29","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T09:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?p=61766"},"modified":"2025-03-05T14:29:08","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T22:29:08","slug":"arcenio-lopez-on-the-history-and-struggle-of-indigenous-farmworkers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2025\/03\/04\/arcenio-lopez-on-the-history-and-struggle-of-indigenous-farmworkers\/","title":{"rendered":"‘If You Speak an Indigenous Language, You Are Treated as Less’: Migrant Indigenous Farmworkers Feel Deportation Threat"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/div>

For three generations, Arcenio L\u00f3pez’s family has lived at the mercy of crops, the changing seasons, and the constant shifts of U.S. immigration policy. Born in 1982 in a small village in Oaxaca, Mexico, L\u00f3pez comes from an Indigenous family of farmers who have been part of a long-standing migration pattern between Mexico and the United States.<\/p><\/div>

\n

His grandfathers began traveling to the U.S. under the Bracero Program<\/a>, which operated from 1942 to 1964, bringing millions of Mexican citizens to work legally in American agriculture and railroads. L\u00f3pez himself followed in their footsteps, coming to California in 2003 to work in the strawberry industry.<\/p>\n

Today, L\u00f3pez serves as the executive director of the Mixteco\/Indigena Community Organizing Project<\/a> (MICOP), a nonprofit based in Oxnard and founded in 2001 that assists Indigenous agricultural workers on California’s central coast. The state is home to an estimated 165,000 Indigenous Mexican farmworkers<\/a>. These workers form an integral part of the agricultural labor force, which totals around 407,300.<\/p>\n

California is home to an estimated 165,000 Indigenous Mexican farmworkers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Over 80 percent of Indigenous farmworkers in California come from Oaxaca, L\u00f3pez’s home state, where Mixtecs are a predominant group. In Ventura County alone, where MICOP operates, there are an estimated 20,000 Indigenous Mixteco migrants from Mexico. These communities are among the poorest workers in the region, often earning meager seasonal wages <\/a>with few, if any, employee benefits.<\/p>\n

Most are undocumented immigrants<\/a> who face unique challenges in the U.S., including language barriers, as many speak pre-Hispanic Indigenous languages rather than Spanish. In the wake of new federal deportation threats<\/a>, their already precarious status has become even more destabilizing, forcing many to avoid critical services or legal protections out of fear.<\/p>\n

We spoke to L\u00f3pez about the impact of recent immigration raids<\/a> in Ventura county, misconceptions about undocumented farmworkers, and prejudice against Indigenous farmworkers in the fields.<\/p>\n

What inspired you to become a community organizer? <\/strong><\/h4>\n

At first, I didn’t know what a community organizer was. But while I was working in the fields, the first thing I noticed was the division among Mexicans, particularly against Oaxaque\u00f1os (people from the state of Oaxaca in Mexico), and how they were treated by other Mexicans. I felt there was a profound lack of knowledge and awareness about the diversity of our own Mexican country, especially regarding Indigenous peoples and our history. I started asking myself, “Why are people treating us as if we were less human for speaking an Indigenous language or because of the way we look? Where is that coming from?”<\/p>\n

I connected what I was experiencing in the fields and the agricultural industry here to what I used to hear from my grandmother about her experiences as a farmworker in Mexico. I grew up listening to her stories about her pain, challenges, mistreatment, and the abuses she endured as a farmworker and as an Indigenous woman who never learned how to speak Spanish. I connected her world to what I was living through in 2003. It was a wake-up call for me to see that so much injustice still existed\u2014and nobody was talking about it, at least not in the fields.<\/p>\n

When I was recruited as a volunteer by El Concilio<\/a> (a nonprofit that serves rural, low-income Latino communities), and two years later offered a position as a community organizer, it became an opportunity for me to learn more about social justice, economic justice, environmental justice, and to dive deeply into my own history and learn about colonization.<\/p>\n

At that time, I didn\u2019t feel comfortable speaking Mixteco. My parents and grandparents didn\u2019t want their children or grandchildren to speak it because of what they went through\u2014feeling disadvantaged simply for speaking their own languages instead of Spanish. They worked hard to ensure we learned Spanish because they believed it would give us better opportunities than their Indigenous languages ever could. Soon, I found myself in a painful moment because I had to challenge my parents\u2019 and grandparents\u2019 beliefs of assimilating to Mexican culture.<\/p>\n

We grew up Catholic, so I had to break down all the ways religion played a role in colonization\u2014how it was used as a weapon to dominate, invade, and kill. I also learned about internalized racism\u2014the self-hatred many of us carry after being discriminated against for so many years. All of this pushed me further into organizing work.<\/p>\n

How has migration played a part in you embracing your Mixteco identity and language, claiming your roots? <\/strong><\/h4>\n

If I had stayed in Mexico, I don’t think I would be embracing my culture and language for many reasons. One of the main reasons is that the Mexican education system doesn’t encourage you to be critical about yourself or your Indigenous identity. They don’t want you to know your own history.<\/p>\n

In Mexico, there is a lot of racism toward Indigenous people\u2014those with brown skin, shorter stature, or those who speak an Indigenous language. If you look more brown or speak an Indigenous language, you are treated as less. That\u2019s how it is. But according to the law and the education curriculum, everyone is supposedly equal\u2014no one is less or more. The system tries to make us homogeneous by erasing Indigenous identities. For example, I never heard of a curriculum in Mixteco, which is my culture, or Zapotec. You just keep going, keep working, learning Spanish, and chasing big goals with the hope that someday you\u2019ll succeed and no longer face discrimination\u2014but that\u2019s not true.<\/p>\n

When you cross a border and you feel far from your own land, you find yourself missing your roots. It becomes an invitation to deeply question yourself, “Who am I?” It pushes you to be more critical. I am the grandson of an abuela [grandmother] who worked in agriculture in Mexico. Some people focus more on learning the culture here or mastering English.<\/p>\n

But I realized early on that if I don\u2019t claim my roots\u2014my culture and my identity\u2014there\u2019s a high risk I\u2019ll lose myself because I will never fully fit into white culture, no matter what I do. That need for belonging is something I think many of us go through. Not feeling a sense of belonging to certain groups forces you to ask yourself: What community do I belong to?<\/p>\n

What struggles for Indigenous farmworkers still exist, two decades after you first came to work in the fields?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Primarily, immigration status. Thousands of Indigenous migrants still have no opportunities for a legal pathway to adjust their status in this country.<\/p>\n

Language barriers remain a major issue as well. Many of our people come from rural areas of Mexico and different states where they don\u2019t have access to a formal education. Many don\u2019t know how to read or write. The education system in Mexico is in Spanish and excludes many of our communities. We feel more comfortable in our Indigenous languages\u2014Mixteco, Zapoteco, Pur\u00e9pecha, Triqui\u2014but transitioning into the Spanish-language education system is a barrier that prevents many from attending school at all. As a result, literacy continues to be a significant problem.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019ve started seeing agricultural companies and growers becoming concerned about many farmworkers not showing up to work.” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Here in the United States, we face new layers of challenges, such as immigration issues, violations of labor laws and rights, workplace retaliation, and wage theft. Language barriers also make it difficult for workers to access accurate information about their rights or available resources. Misinformation is another issue\u2014there aren\u2019t enough news outlets providing fact-based information tailored to our communities.<\/p>\n

Our population is substantial. Yet many companies still lack systems to provide training or support in Indigenous languages for their workers. California has strong labor laws that protect employees, but enforcement is lacking. This makes workers from Indigenous communities especially vulnerable. Even when they know their labor rights, many of our people don\u2019t feel confident or empowered enough to advocate for themselves.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration, through U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), has <\/strong>deported more 37,000 people <\/strong><\/a>during his first month in office\u2014less than the monthly average of 57,000 deportations during Biden\u2019s presidency. In the fields, what has happened or changed since Trump was elected to his second term? <\/strong><\/h4>\n

People were hopeful that, even though he said there would be massive deportations, there wouldn\u2019t be a significant difference between his administration and the previous Obama or Biden administrations. But now it feels like his actions have been more aggressive, and it\u2019s all over social media\u2014ICE agents in our neighborhoods. A few weeks ago, people were detained in our neighborhood. Folks got scared and stopped going to work in the fields.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve started seeing agricultural companies and growers becoming concerned about many farmworkers not showing up to work. We\u2019ve also heard that many parents are not taking their children to school. Even at our organization, people who use our services have been canceling their appointments and participation in our programs. We offer different training sessions and groups, but participants have been calling us to say they prefer staying home and asking if we can hold virtual trainings or meetings instead.<\/p>\n

Being undocumented means always living in fear. We\u2019ve normalized fear, but it escalates when someone like Donald Trump gets into this position of power.<\/p>\n

What are some things that undocumented workers should know under this administration? What rights do they have if they are detained by ICE? <\/strong><\/h4>\n

When I get the opportunity to talk to people, I tell them: Let\u2019s take a moment, breathe, stay calm, and approach this with a cold head. All I need to focus on is making a plan for the worst-case scenario.<\/p>\n

That said, if you are unfortunately detained, the first thing to remember is: Do not provide any information. You have the right to remain silent. I know it\u2019s hard because agents can be very intimidating\u2014they may yell, scream, and try to get as much information from you as possible. If you carry the red card\u2014the Know Your Rights card<\/a>\u2014show it to them and say, “I need to talk to my attorney. I\u2019m being detained.”<\/p>\n

If they take you to a detention center, do not sign anything, no matter what the paper says. If possible, ask if you can call a family member. Planning and preparation are key here because your family member should already know what to do. They should have the contact information for our offices and should call our hotline to get legal advice. The goal is to find a lawyer who can take your case for removal defense and fight for a bond.<\/p>\n

“Imagine the worst-case scenario: All undocumented workers are deported. The agricultural industry would collapse.” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In preparation for this possibility, you need to make a family plan. Decide who will have legal custody of your children and who will pick them up from school if you are detained. There are already many resources available that we\u2019re sharing with our communities. We\u2019re organizing fairs where we\u2019ll bring public notaries to help notarize these plans. That\u2019s what we\u2019re telling our people: Even though they are undocumented, they still have rights<\/p>\n

What are some of the most common misperceptions about immigrant farmworkers, especially those who are undocumented? <\/strong><\/h4>\n

There’s a perception that undocumented people are abusing the system or taking advantage of public benefits. But the reality is different\u2014they are not taking advantage of all the benefits.<\/p>\n

They are paying taxes. All individuals who work here are contributing to this economy as farmworkers. However, the deductions taken from their paychecks on a weekly basis\u2014such as Social Security and Medicare\u2014are benefits they will never be able to access.<\/p>\n

Undocumented workers won\u2019t have access to retirement benefits or Medicare when they reach 60 years old because of their immigration status. And many people have no idea that undocumented workers are paying all these taxes without receiving the same benefits in return.<\/p>\n

What would happen to the agricultural industry without migrant farmworkers, <\/strong>roughly half<\/strong><\/a> of whom are undocumented, according to the USDA?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

I wish we could ask this question to a grower. They likely know that a large percentage of their workforce is undocumented. Imagine if they lost them.<\/p>\n

Growers have already been struggling with a worker shortage for the last five to seven years. They started using the H-2A program<\/a>, which is very similar to the Bracero Program, but it\u2019s not enough to meet their labor needs.<\/p>\n

We are also concerned about the H-2A program because it makes workers very vulnerable<\/a>. Once they are on this side of the border, who knows what happens to those workers? For years, efforts have been made to streamline the process of bringing workers over the border, but growers are still facing significant challenges due to a lack of labor.<\/p>\n

Now imagine the worst-case scenario: All undocumented workers are deported. The agricultural industry would collapse. This is the last thing growers need to face. They have a lot of political power, and I hope they are pressuring their leaders to take action.<\/p>\n

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n

Arcenio L\u00f3pez on How to Support Farmworkers<\/div>
\"Farm<\/a><\/div>\n
    \n
  1. \n
      \n
    1. Donate to nonprofits that work directly with farmworkers.<\/li>\n
    2. Use social media platforms to spread awareness or share a different narrative. The current narrative often criminalizes undocumented people, but farmworkers are mostly good, hardworking individuals. We, as brown and undocumented people, may not always be able to educate others\u2014especially white people\u2014but white allies can educate their peers.<\/li>\n
    3. Call local representatives in the [state] Capitol and ask them: What are you doing for farmworkers? How can you stop these raids and ICE operations?<\/li>\n
    4. Hold public events to invite others to learn about the agricultural landscape of this state.<\/li>\n
    5. If there are marches or protests, it makes a difference when U.S. citizens attend and physically show up to protect those who don\u2019t have the privilege of participating in civil disobedience. Citizens can use their presence to shield vulnerable community members.<\/li>\n
    6. Finally, create spaces that are respectful and allow farmworkers to share their own stories\u2014our stories should come from us.<\/li>\n
    7. Language barriers make it difficult for workers to access accurate information about their rights or available resources; translate or provide interpreters when possible.<\/li>\n
    8. Misinformation is a problem\u2014news outlets can provide fact-based information tailored to our communities. We also have our own media outlet, Radio Ind\u00edgena<\/a>, and you can follow us on social media<\/a>.<\/li>\n
    9. Pass the Know Your Rights card<\/a> to anyone who might need it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n
      <\/div><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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