The Illinois legislature is debating whether to become one of a handful of states to legally require worker protections from extreme temperatures. The legislation would apply to labor on the frontlines of the climate crisis, such as farm work.
The administration’s push to deport millions, along with the rollback of multiple immigration policies, has created labor shortages and fear from warehouses to meatpacking plants.
With President Trump’s end of a program that once safeguarded whistleblowers and a focus on deportation, advocates warn the nation’s food supply chain is at risk.
As the Trump administration cracks down on immigration, the food system is beginning to feel the lack of workers, but it could just be the beginning, experts said at an Investigate Midwest panel Thursday.
