HAC in the News
Jennifer Emerling / There Is More Work To Be Done
Jennifer Emerling / There Is More Work To Be Done
Farm workers lack access to safe, affordable homes
HAC’s Executive Director Moises Loza is quoted in a story highlighting the challenges many farmworkers face in accessing decent, affordable housing.
HAC’s Executive Director Moises Loza is quoted in a story highlighting the challenges many farmworkers face in accessing decent, affordable housing. The story, featured on Marketplace Morning Report with David Brancaccio, follows farmworke Angel Castro who used to live in a trailer park community in rural Missouri where several migrant farm workers are housed. The trailers do not appear to meet federal and state housing safety codes and are not well maintained. However, according to the story farmworkers like Angel often feel as if they have no other housing option.
Practically every state has a lack of enforcement…
According to USDA, about three-quarters of farmworkers are now settled and work within 75 miles of their home. But increased housing crowding and a lack of enforcement of federal and state housing codes make it difficult for them to find safe, affordable housing. This issue is not unique to Missouri.
“Practically every state has a lack of enforcement [of housing codes],” said HAC’s Executive Director Moises Loza. Moises also stresses that farmworkers are unlikely to report the lack of compliance. “They’re uninformed about what rights they might have or what codes there are in housing,” he said. “But even if they did know, they’re also afraid of getting immigration after them.”
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