When a team of reporters for the Palm Beach Post began preparing packages on migrant farm laborers (www.palmbeachpost.com/moderndayslavery/content/moderndayslavery/) and the dangers of pesticide (www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/news/special_reports/carlitos/index.html) in 2003 and 2005, they pursued multiple angles.
They found instances of modern-day slavery, explored the politics that touch migrant lives and calculated the unseen costs of migrant labor. Covering the story required traveling to its sources: in the crop fields of Florida, to the streets of Guadalupe, Mexico, and the trails taken by smugglers to bring migrants into America. Inquiry into the abuses also meant digging into reports provided by state and federal agencies.
Whenever the federal government contracts a state agency to enforce its laws, the agency must collect data and file reports to the federal government, says Christine Stapleton, a Palm Beach Post reporter who worked on both migrant packages. Stapleton suggests that reporters first read the contract, which explains the type of data and the format in which it's kept. Reporters can then request specific databases or record fields from the state.
For example, the Palm Beach Post tapped the state health department to check for housing violations caused by migrants living in overcrowded homes. Reporters compiled demographic profiles of labor contractors by getting their phone numbers and birthplaces from the state department of professional registration. While working on the pesticides package, they searched worker compensation data for chemical injury claims filed against agricultural employers. Stapleton shares more advice on investigating agriculture in Tipsheet 2086 (www.ire.org/resourcecenter/viewtipsheets.php?number=2086).
The following resources also can aid investigations into farm labor conditions:
National Agricultural Workers Survey (www.dol.gov/asp/programs/agworker/naws.htm) – A report of demographic and employment characteristics of the U.S. crop labor force. Released in 2005, the data is taken from face-to-face interviews of farm workers.
Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Enumeration Profiles Study (http://bphc.hrsa.gov/migrant/EnumerationEnumerationStudy.htm) – Profiles of workers in ten states (Alaska, California, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington). It includes county estimates of migrant and seasonal workers and each state's labor demand for crops.
Urban Institute (www.urban.org) – Includes various academic articles about immigrants and plenty of statistics.
The Inter-American Development Bank (www.iadb.org) – Has posted two useful papers, "Data on Immigrant Families" and "Remittances 2005," which discusses how migrants send money back to families in their native countries.
Sarasota/Manatee Farmworker Supporters (www.smfws.com) – A collection of national articles about immigration that are updated daily and archived through 2003.
Migrant Farmworker Justice Project (www.floridalegal.org/migrant.htm) – Includes a facts section on farm workers in Florida.
IRE Data, stories and tipsheets The Wage and Hour Enforcement Database has information on violations, penalties and employers for more than 700,000 closed cases between the 1980s and 2004 (www.ire.org/datalibrary/databases/viewdatabase.php?dbaseindex=46). The database covers areas including child labor, overtime, minimum wage and medical or family leave.
WINK-Fort Myers, Fla., reported that between 20,000 to 50,000 people are smuggled into the U.S. each year as indentured servants. Some