This document assesses the preliminary impact of the first year of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). The act had three primary goals: (1) to discourage illegal immigration into the United States and to encourage the departure of recent illegal immigrants; (2) to permit the legalization of illegal immigrants who have been in…

Since 1955, the British banana industry has dominated the lives of the Caribs and other peoples in Dominica. Banana growing supplants other economic activities, including local food production; toxic chemicals and fertilizers pollute the land; community is dwindling; suicide is common; and child labor diminishes school attendance. (SV)

Evidence suggests that living and labor conditions have improved very little among agricultural laborers and are particularly hopeless among migrants. Since the government, food producers, industry, and consumers are all beneficiaries of the present farm system, it is unlikely that farm workers will be able to unionize and control their own…

The stereotype of rural Hispanic Americans often connotes social problems such as poverty, illegal immigration, and migrant workers. In reality, rural Hispanics are part of a larger demographic trend changing the balance of power and socioeconomic relations among ethnic groups. Part 1 of this paper reviews demographic information.…

The purpose of this paper is to determine major characteristics of selected part-time farmers and determine factors affecting off-farm supply of labor by farm operators. Part-time farmers were found to be relatively younger, more educated and to have a higher total family income, operating smaller-sized farms as compared to full-time farmers.…

Discusses the need for and the difficulties in providing rural development and education programs for rural workers in Latin America and suggests linking adult education with community associative enterprises. Low income rural workers maintain membership by contributing their work to the enterprise and receive goods according to their…

Many farmworkers are faced with serious problems such as toxic drinking water, malnutrition, low levels of education and income, and poor health care. Based on statistical review, social surveys, and case studies, this document describes older farmworkers' living conditions, focusing on their housing problems. For many, housing is a luxury item…

In this booklet, essays and poems, presented both in English and in Spanish, portray the feelings, conditions, and economic plight of migrant and seasonal farmworkers in North and South Carolina, often in their own words. A preface describes Student Action with Farmworkers summer internships in which college students spend 10 weeks working with…

The crisis in Jamaican agriculture is due to environmental factors like climate conditions and to social and economic factors like the plantation system. Along with mining, tourism, and manufacturing, agriculture has a key role to play in the Jamaican economy. Suggests ways to improve productivity by aid to family farms. (CS)

Since the late 1970s, California's rural poor (frequently immigrants and refugees) have been engaged in grassroots efforts to change the cultural and political landscapes of their communities. Told in the words of rural people, this book presents six stories of struggle and empowerment. In Yuba City, Latino and East Indian farmworkers felt that…

Designed to inform key members of La Raza about practical implications of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, this bulletin outlines immediate action that should be taken to educate the Hispanic community and employers about the legislation. Brief summaries are provided for four critical provisions of the legislation: (1) a…

Despite predictions in the 1950's and 1960's that computer technology would reduce job opportunities by 90%, historical data published by the Department of Labor reveal that total manpower demands accelerated from 1947 through 1977 and were primarily satisfied by a decreased demand for farm laborers, an increase in percentage of women in the…

Summarizes the findings and recommendations of "Una Vida Dura" ("A Hard Life"), a 1988 study by Charles Kyle and others, that criticizes the services provided to migrant farm workers in Illinois by the Catholic Church. (FMW)

This document is a transcript of a hearing on provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that govern the entry and the stay of certain classes of nonimmigrants, including temporary or H-2 workers and foreign students. The hearing also reviewed the proposal to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act so that visas could be waived for…

In rural Pakistan, agricultural land is owned by men and they use family labor, including women. Women usually transact no cash from cradle to grave. There is no social support for high achievement in their lives. The illiteracy rate among women is very high, especially in rural areas, where only 7.3 percent of women are literate. Poor…