By Leslie S.

If you look at your strawberries, what do you see? At first glance, you see delicious fruit — but that fruit is a symbol of the suffering that undocumented workers have to endure. Many wake up every day and face the reality of going to work in the fields under inhumane conditions. Now that President Donald Trump is back in office, these circumstances are highly unlikely to change any time soon. 

As of March 2025, there are a reported 18.6 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States, with at least 283,000 working in agriculture, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. Forced to labor in extreme heat, many of them have limited access to amenities like clean bathrooms and clean drinking water. Corporations profit from this exploitation, and consumers get the convenience of purchasing strawberries for the low price of $3.80 per pound. But the hidden cost of affordable fruit is the suffering of the undocumented workers who produce it. 

Only 32 percent of crop farmworkers are U.S.-born, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Americans don’t want to do this essential work, but someone has to. You may ask yourself: Why does anyone put up with these working conditions? For undocumented immigrants, speaking up could cost them a job that they can’t afford to lose. Out of fear, they stay silent.

Next time you go to the grocery store, consider how the food ended up on the shelves. Instead of choosing the cheapest option, try to purchase the ethical option. Was it made sustainably? Were the workers treated humanely and paid a fair wage? Consumers have a responsibility to know what their money is supporting. For us, the difference is just a few dollars or cents. For undocumented workers, the stakes are much higher.