For decades, Washington state’s fruit industry has leaned on a fragile and deeply flawed labor ecosystem — one that relies heavily on undocumented labor, tacit political indulgence, and economic incentives that reward shortcuts over sustainability. Now, the system is cracking under the pressure of renewed immigration enforcement, and cherry growers across central Washington are left scrambling, with some losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpicked fruit.
This is not just a seasonal hiccup. It’s a moment of reckoning.
A Model Built to Break
From Mattawa to Wenatchee, orchards are reporting extreme labor shortages. Cherry growers like those at Blue Bird Inc., a grower-owned cooperative, have seen entire harvests wither on the trees. Erik Zavala, the co-op’s director of field staff, confirmed that one grower lost over 300 bins of cherries — each weighing between 350 and 400 pounds.
This isn’t an isolated incident. In a typical year, Washington’s cherry harvest depends on a steady migration of pickers who start in California and move northward. The system is timed to the day. Migrant workers arrive in waves, following the fruit from region to region before returning to pick apples or pears. When it works, it’s a seamless operation. But this year, the labor chain has snapped.
Zavala reports that orchards expecting 100 pickers have seen only 20 or 30 show up. He says social media rumors of ICE raids and checkpoints near the Oregon border have deterred workers, many of whom are undocumented and fear deportation. Despite assurances that Washington has not seen such raids, fear has proven more powerful than fact.
“We keep telling them we haven’t heard anything, but nobody wants to take that chance,” Zavala explained.
Political Whiplash
The inconsistent messaging from federal authorities hasn’t helped. At one point, the Department of Homeland Security reportedly instructed agents to pause worksite enforcement actions at agricultural sites. Days later, ICE reversed course, telling leaders that raids should continue.
For the workers, it’s not just policy; it’s personal risk. As Mike Gempler of the Washington Growers League notes, the consequences of deportation are life-altering. Even those with permanent resident status fear getting caught in the machinery of federal enforcement.
“The rumor mill is very powerful,” Gempler said. “This is disrupting the normal streams of migrancy and the domestic workforce.”
The uncertainty has effectively paralyzed many workers, leaving orchards eerily empty during what should be the busiest weeks of the season.
The Harvest Clock
Cherry harvest is unforgiving. Unlike apples, which can sit in cold storage for months, cherries have a narrow two-week window to be picked, processed, and shipped. Beyond that, they fail the pressure test — a measure of firmness and freshness required by processors and retailers.
“Every warehouse has maturity standards,” Zavala said. “Once it drops to a certain point, we recommend the grower stop picking. Otherwise, they spend money picking fruit that will be rejected.”
And it’s not just a matter of money. For many family farms, a lost harvest means mounting debt, lost contracts, and a genuine risk of foreclosure.
Fourth-generation grower Candice Lyall has seen it firsthand. Farming in the Grandview-Prosser and Mattawa areas, she said her harvest started strong but quickly faltered as pickers left for other farms. At one point, she lost three-quarters of her crew in a matter of days.
“It’s been a struggle with labor for the last four to five years. But this year, it has been really bad,” she said.
The Real Roots of the Crisis
It’s tempting to blame ICE or conservative immigration policies for this disruption. But the truth is more complicated. This crisis is the result of a long-term strategy of willful neglect and political expedience.
Washington’s agricultural sector has long relied on undocumented labor. Sanctuary policies, inconsistent federal enforcement, and a widespread cultural tolerance for “looking the other way” created a stable but illegal labor supply.
Advocates argue that undocumented labor keeps food prices low. But this illusion of low cost conceals deeper problems: it suppresses wages, discourages technological innovation, and creates structural dependence on a labor force with no legal protections.
Instead of embracing legal guest-worker programs like H-2A, many growers avoided the administrative and cost burdens. Even now, as the crisis deepens, some producers resist the very reforms that could legalize and stabilize their labor force.
Gempler noted that the minimum wage for H-2A workers in Washington has risen to $19.82/hour. That wage must also be paid to domestic workers when H-2A workers are present. Though it draws some labor in, he said, it also raises costs and exposes the razor-thin margins on which farms operate.
Lyall sees this as an existential threat. “If we keep having good years and we’re not making a profit, I don’t see anyone continuing,” she said. “I’m fearful for us.”
Fear, Rumors, and Retreat
According to Ben Tindall, executive director of Save Family Farming, fear is grinding the industry to a halt. Reports of possible ICE activity have led to shutdowns at some warehouses and processing centers. Tindall has called for “decisive action” to stop the bleeding.
But what action, exactly? A return to benign neglect? Another round of sanctuary state policies? Or should it be something more sustainable?
Tindall is right about one thing: without reform, Washington’s family farms are at risk. But the solution isn’t to double down on lawbreaking. It’s to reform the system.
Reform Is Not Optional
It’s time for the agricultural sector to confront reality. A business model based on illegal labor is not just unsustainable — it’s unjust. It exploits vulnerable workers, undermines the rule of law, and creates an unstable food supply chain.
What the industry needs now is a three-part pivot:
1. Legal Labor Pathways: Embrace and improve the H-2A visa program. Streamline it, yes — but also invest in making it the norm, not the exception.
2. Wage Restructuring: Accept that real wages may need to rise. This may mean higher prices for consumers, but it restores dignity to the labor and reduces reliance on fear-driven recruitment.
3. Innovation: Other industries facing rising labor costs have turned to automation. Agriculture must do the same. There are already machines that can pick fruit, though imperfectly. Investing in that technology now will pay dividends later.
A Crisis of Our Own Making
The cherry crisis of 2025 isn’t an immigration story — it’s a consequence story. For too long, industry, government, and voters have indulged in magical thinking: that we could have cheap food, minimal enforcement, and a compliant workforce living in the shadows.
But shadows eventually bring collapse. The harvest now rotting on the trees is not just fruit lost — it’s the cost of a system built to break.
If agriculture is to survive in Washington, it must be rebuilt on sturdier foundations: legal, humane, and economically honest. And if growers want to keep their farms, they need to stop blaming ICE and start reforming themselves.
Tomaeus Klaus
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