Impacts of Deportation on Employment, Wages, and Output in California Vegetable Production
Umesh Gautam(a) and Stephen Devadoss(a)
(a)Texas Tech University
JEL Codes: JEL Codes: J21, J43, J61
Keywords: California deportation, farm-labor shortages, vegetable production
First Published Online: April 15, 2026
Abstract
California is the leading producer of lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower, and accounts for 36.84 percent of US vegetable production, valued at $10.5 billion. Labor-intensive sectors, such as vegetable production, endure chronic labor shortages. The deportation of undocumented workers will drastically reduce vegetable production in California because domestic workers are unwilling to take field jobs and readily bringing in guest workers is not feasible.
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Articles in this issue
Theme Overview: Implications of New Immigration Policies for Specific US Agricultural Sectors
Stephen Devadoss
Immigration Reform and Implications for the US Fruit Industry
Diane E. Charlton
Impacts of Deportation on Employment, Wages, and Output in California Vegetable Production
Umesh Gautama and Stephen Devadoss
Deportation Effects on the Dairy Industry
Hernan A. Tejeda, Philip Watson, and Timothy Nadreau
Who Will Harvest? Immigration Policy and Labor Dependence in Florida’s Specialty Crop Sectors
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