TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY Paula Ramon: "US farmers fret over Trump's deportation plans"
An undocumented worker from Honduras carrying a shovel, looks for damaged irrigation hoses in a cantaloupe field at Del Bosque Farms in Firebaugh, California, on December 17, 2024. Around 2.4 million people work in farming in the United States, 44 percent of whom are undocumented, according to a survey by the Department of Labor.
University of Michigan economist David Ortega said -- despite what some politicians say publicly -- it is widely acknowledged in official circles that the entire system is heavily dependent on illegal workers. (Photo by David Swanson / AFP)