The U.S. is experiencing a labor shortage that s partly fueled by a drop-off in immigration, which ground to a halt during the coronavirus pandemic. By some estimates, the U.S. now has 2 million fewer immigrants than it would have if the pace had stayed the same.
Just 10 miles from the Rio Grande, Mike Helle s farm is so short of immigrant workers that he s replaced 450 acres of labor-intensive leafy greens with crops that can be harvested by machinery.