The cannabis industry’s trafficked workforce
Investigators say trafficked migrant workers were recruited into cannabis grows and farms, where coercive labor arrangements and debt kept them working.
- On Tuesday, an investigative report detailed forced labor operations targeting Chinese immigrants in New Mexico's illicit cannabis industry, with workers lured to Farmington by deceptive online job advertisements promising legitimate agricultural work.
- Many arrived in the U.S. seeking economic stability amid youth unemployment hovering around 18% in China, only to be trapped in forced labor after responding to ads for what they believed were legitimate agricultural roles.
- Workers like Mary reported being locked in rooms, denied medical care, and forced to trim cannabis buds for eight to 10 hours daily without receiving promised compensation, according to legal documents.
- Officers raided the Farmington facility in early November 2020, but frequently detained exploited workers while the operation's organizers vanished before law enforcement could make arrests.
- Exploited workers often bore the burden of punishment for the system that enslaved them, while traffickers continue exploiting gaps in the legal market and authorities struggle to hold financial backers accountable.
39 Articles
39 Articles
The cannabis industry’s trafficked workforce - The Mexico Ledger
For people who had spent their lives farming, the ad was a lifeline: “Farmwork in New Mexico, legal work authorization card required.”It was fall 2020, three years after Mark and Mary (not their real names) first moved to the United States from eastern China. Laid off from their jobs a few months earlier, they were desperate for income, living in a cramped Monterey Park, California, apartment that they shared with four others.For over two decade…
Santa New Mexican
The cannabis industry’s trafficked workforce
The Economic Hardship Reporting Project and High Country News report on how Chinese immigrants are trafficked into New Mexico's marijuana farms, facing exploitation and harsh conditions.
The cannabis industry’s trafficked workforce - Hillsboro Sentry Enterprise
For people who had spent their lives farming, the ad was a lifeline: “Farmwork in New Mexico, legal work authorization card required.”It was fall 2020, three years after Mark and Mary (not their real names) first moved to the United States from eastern China. Laid off from their jobs a few months earlier, they were desperate for income, living in a cramped Monterey Park, California, apartment that they shared with four others.For over two decade…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 89% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
