Employers Have Exploited and Abused H-2A Farmworkers for Years. It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way.
The seasonal visa program has failed to protect migrant farmworkers from wage theft, forced labor, violence and death. Experts, lawyers and advocates say there are ways to reduce and even stop the harms.
Reporting From the South
ProPublica’s seven-person reporting unit, based in Atlanta, covers North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. The region plays a pivotal role in national issues including political representation, racial equity and environmental justice.
The H-2A Visa Trap
Sofi left behind her child in Mexico for the promise of providing him a better life. She ended up a victim of an operation that is alleged to have exploited the H-2A visa program — and the workers it brought to America.
A Florida Home Insurer Was Allowed to Bypass the Courts During Claim Disputes. It Won More Than 90% of the Time.
State legislators and executives at Citizens Property Insurance touted mandatory arbitration as advantageous for both consumers and insurers. In practice, homeowners were left with few avenues for recourse when their claims were denied.
Local Officials Have a Powerful Tool to Warn Residents of Emergencies. They Don’t Always Use It.
ProPublica has identified at least 15 major disasters since 2016 in which officials in the most-harmed communities failed to use a federal system to send emergency alerts to residents — or waited until it was too late.
South News Staff
- South Editor
- Mara Shalhoup
- Reporters
- Max Blau, Doug Bock Clark, Jennifer Berry Hawes, Aliyya Swaby and Amy Yurkanin
Local Reporting Network Partners
ProPublica is supporting local and regional newsrooms as they work on important investigative projects affecting their communities. Some of our past and present partners in the region:
- MLK50: Justice Through Journalism
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Mountain State Spotlight
- West Virginia
- Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal
- Tupelo, Mississippi
- Sun Herald
- Biloxi, Mississippi
- AL.com
- Birmingham, Alabama
- The Palm Beach Post
- Palm Beach, Florida
- Miami Herald
- Miami, Florida
- Richmond Times-Dispatch
- Richmond, Virginia
Las falsas promesas de la visa H-2A
Sofi dejó a su hijo en México con la promesa de ofrecerle una vida mejor. Terminó siendo víctima de un negocio que presuntamente abusaba del programa de visas H-2A y de los trabajadores que traía a Estados Unidos.
“Just Let Me Die”: After Insurance Repeatedly Denied a Couple’s Claims, One Psychiatrist Was Their Last Hope
After a North Carolina man attempted suicide twice, his wife tried to get him help at an inpatient clinic. But their insurance provider refused to cover the treatment, deeming it “not medically necessary.”
What One Man’s 45-Year-Old Case Tells Us About the “Jim Crow Juries” Haunting Louisiana
Today, a split verdict would mean a mistrial. But in 1980s Louisiana, when nonunanimous juries were still legal, 19-year-old Lloyd Gray, a Black man, was sentenced to prison for life — even though the only two Black jurors had voted not guilty.
An Unconstitutional “Jim Crow Jury” Sent Him to Prison for Life. A New Law Aims to Keep Him There.
Five years ago, the Supreme Court decided that nonunanimous jury verdicts are unconstitutional. But for this Louisiana prisoner — and hundreds of others — “tough on crime” state leaders have ensured that doesn’t change anything.
Inside the Memphis Chamber of Commerce’s Push for Elon Musk’s xAI Data Center
In the face of intense public opposition, the city’s Chamber of Commerce has gone to unusual lengths to promote Musk’s xAI facility: sending out a mailer, for the first time in recent memory, that includes misleading facts.
Trump Administration Halted Lawsuits Targeting Civil Rights Abuses of Prisoners and Mentally Ill People
The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division had brought lawsuits accusing Louisiana of confining prisoners longer than they should and South Carolina of keeping mentally ill people in unreasonably restrictive group homes. Both cases are now on hold.
Middle School Cheerleaders Made a TikTok Video Portraying a School Shooting. They Were Charged With a Crime.
Social videos, memes and retweets are becoming fodder for criminal charges in an era of heightened responses to student threats. Authorities say harsh punishment is necessary, but experts say the crackdown has unintended consequences.
Four Years After Cop Was Filmed Slamming Black Woman to the Ground, Louisiana Passes Accountability Law
Despite being caught in a 2021 video ripping out Shantel Arnold’s hair, sheriff’s Deputy Julio Alvarado failed to report the incident. A new law authored by Arnold’s attorney will mandate excessive-force reporting for all law enforcement agencies.
Some Texas Officials Didn’t Respond to Flood Alerts, Echoing the Tragedies of Hurricane Helene
Weather warnings predicted devastation from both the Texas floods and Hurricane Helene. But in both disasters, people were left in harm’s way.
States Fear Critical Funding From FEMA May Be Drying Up
Many states rely on the federal government for the vast majority of their emergency management funding. Now, local leaders are looking for clues about the money — and the future of FEMA itself.
Congress Is Pushing for a Medicaid Work Requirement. Here’s What Happened When Georgia Tried It.
GOP lawmakers want to nationalize Medicaid work requirements to offset Trump’s proposed tax cuts. Yet Georgia’s example shows that this could threaten health care for nearly 16 million Americans and cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
“You’re Already Approved”: How One Tennessee Company Sets a Debt Trap
Borrowers say the lending company Advance Financial encouraged them to borrow back the value of almost all of the payments they made, tearing a hole in the safety net the law tried to create.
Tennessee’s Law on School Threats Ensnared Students Who Posed No Risks. Two States Passed Similar Laws.
Despite an outcry over increased arrests in Tennessee, two states — Georgia and New Mexico — followed its lead by passing laws that will crack down harder on hoax threats.
How the Head of an Embattled Tennessee Youth Detention Center Held on to Power for Decades
Richard L. Bean remained in his perch as the superintendent of the juvenile detention center that bears his name despite scandals, investigations and the use of seclusion to punish children.
The Head of a Tennessee Youth Detention Center Will Step Down After “Loss of Confidence” in His Leadership
A 2023 investigation by WPLN News and ProPublica found that Richard L. Bean was illegally locking kids up alone in cells. A new scandal has forced his resignation.
