A Lifeline in troubled waters: A support intervention for migrant farm workers

We implemented and evaluated a service delivery intervention (support model) to address the challenges faced by migrant agricultural workers in British Columbia, Canada. Three factors were identified that contributed to the effectiveness of the intervention: (1) face‐to‐face support and in‐person outreach towards connection;(2) accounting migrant workers' hierarchy of needs and addressing their basic needs first towards comprehensiveness;and (3) role clarity and communication between partners involved in supporting this population towards coordination. A final factor, wider constraints, referred to the wider context of migrant workers' lives including their temporary status, tied work permits, and lack of access to rights. These wider constraints, which were exacerbated by the COVID‐19 pandemic, underscore that until greater policy action is taken to address these workers' precarious status, support services can only offer a lifeline in troubled waters. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Migration is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Informality, Social Citizenship, and Wellbeing among Migrant Workers in Costa Rica in the Context of COVID-19.

Costa Rica is home to 557,000 migrants, whose disproportionate exposure to precarious, dangerous, and informal work has resulted in persistent inequities in health and wellbeing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a novel multimodal grounded approach synthesizing documentary film, experiential education, and academic research to explore socioecological wellbeing among Nicaraguan migrant workers in Costa Rica. Participants pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as exacerbating the underlying conditions of vulnerability, such as precarity and informality, dangerous working conditions, social and systemic discrimination, and additional burdens faced by women. However, the narrative that emerged most consistently in shaping migrants' experience of marginalization were challenges in obtaining documentation-both in the form of legal residency and health insurance coverage. Our results demonstrate that, in spite of Costa Rica's acclaimed social welfare policies, migrant workers continue to face exclusion due to administrative, social, and financial barriers. These findings paint a rich picture of how multiple intersections of precarious, informal, and dangerous working conditions; social and systemic discrimination; gendered occupational challenges; and access to legal residency and health insurance coverage combine to prevent the full achievement of a shared minimum standard of social and economic security for migrant workers in Costa Rica.

A Lifeline in troubled waters: A support intervention for migrant farm workers

We implemented and evaluated a service delivery intervention (support model) to address the challenges faced by migrant agricultural workers in British Columbia, Canada. Three factors were identified that contributed to the effectiveness of the intervention: (1) face‐to‐face support and in‐person outreach towards connection;(2) accounting migrant workers' hierarchy of needs and addressing their basic needs first towards comprehensiveness;and (3) role clarity and communication between partners involved in supporting this population towards coordination. A final factor, wider constraints, referred to the wider context of migrant workers' lives including their temporary status, tied work permits, and lack of access to rights. These wider constraints, which were exacerbated by the COVID‐19 pandemic, underscore that until greater policy action is taken to address these workers' precarious status, support services can only offer a lifeline in troubled waters. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Migration is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Relentless Border Walls: Challenges of Providing Services and Supports to Migrant Agricultural Workers in British Columbia

Les travailleurs immigrants temporaires représentent une grande partie de la main-d'œuvre de l'industrie agricole canadienne, avec plus de 50 000 personnes entrant au pays chaque année. Malgré des obstacles bien répertoriés, il n'y a pas eu de mesures normalisées et proactives pour prévenir et réagir rapidement aux cas positifs de COVID-19 au sein de ce groupe qui a connu une des plus importantes éclosions en dehors des centres d'hébergement et de soins de longue durée. Nous avons mené des recherches dans la vallée de l'Okanagan, en Colombie-Britannique, entre 2017 et 2020, avec des personnes de soutien officielles et officieuses de travailleurs agricoles immigrants, y compris des membres d'organismes gouvernementaux, d'organismes sans but lucratif et de groupes communautaires. Nous avons constaté que l'accés des travailleurs agricoles immigrants au soutien et aux services est limité par une série de forces sociopolitiques que nous avons qualifiées de « murs frontaliers draconiens ». Dans cet article, nous définissons ce concept et discutons de trois facteurs clés qui le constituent : le fardeau des travailleurs ;le paternalisme et le contróle ;et les vulnérabilités du systéme. En fin de compte, ces concepts mettent en évidence comment les travailleurs agricoles immigrants sont particuliérement vulnérables aux épidémies de COVID-19, et suggérent les changements sociaux et politiques nécessaires pour mieux répondre aux besoins de cette population.Alternate abstract:Temporary migrant workers represent a large portion of the labour force of Canada's agricultural industry with over 50,000 entering the country each year. Despite well-documented barriers, there have not been standardized and proactive measures to prevent and quickly respond to positive COVID-19 cases among this group who have experienced some of the largest outbreaks outside of long-term care facilities. We conducted research in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia between 2017-2020, with formal and informal support persons of migrant agricultural workers including members of government agencies, non-profits, and community groups. We found that migrant agricultural workers' access to support and services is constrained by a series of socio-political forces that we have termed "Relentless Border Walls". In this paper we define this concept and discuss three key factors that constitute it: onus on workers;paternalism and control;and system-enabled vulnerabilities. Ultimately, these concepts highlight how migrant agricultural workers are made uniquely susceptible to COVID-19 outbreaks, and suggest necessary social and political changes to better address the needs of this population.