Can U.S. Farm Workers Be Replaced by Machines?

The U.S. has had about 2.5 million hired farm workers since the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) legalized 1.1 million unauthorized farm workers and made it easier for farm employers to hire legal H-2A guestworkers.

The IRCA supporters promised that legalized and empowered farm workers would demand higher wages, and that farm employers would have to raise wages and improve working conditions in order to retain legalized workers or hire H-2A guestworkers.