How is U.S. immigration policy hurting a key Louisiana industry?
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 29 May 2026
⏱️ 8 minutes
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Summary
Farmers, landscapers and the hospitality industry have long argued that the U.S. government doesn’t issue enough temporary visas to meet seasonal labor needs.
Current limits under Trump’s second term have worsened that problem.
And farmers in rural Louisiana are feeling that pinch.
NPR’s Debbie Elliott went to Louisiana to find out how.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's consider this where every day we go deep on one big news story. |
| 0:06.0 | Today, the economic effects of the Trump administration's immigration policy on a Louisiana industry. |
| 0:12.3 | Farmers there are struggling to sell a state delicacy. |
| 0:16.0 | Crawfish. |
| 0:17.3 | The reason? |
| 0:18.3 | A shortage of workers. |
| 0:19.8 | We've tried hiring temp workers, local workers. We have had very little success. |
| 0:25.9 | Alan Lawson manages a crawfish farm in Crowley, Louisiana. He says the industry relies on migrant workers who come to the U.S. every year under temporary visas. |
| 0:36.5 | But a rule changed by the Trump administration last |
| 0:38.8 | year left farmers like Lawson without enough staff to peel and pack the crawfish. |
| 0:44.4 | Local workers don't want these jobs. First of all, they're seasonal. American citizens, |
| 0:48.9 | they need 12-month jobs. They don't need six-month jobs. Consider this. Louisiana leads the country in crawfish production, bringing more than $300 million to the state each year. |
| 1:00.9 | What happens when there aren't enough employees to get it to buyers? |
| 1:06.8 | From NPR, I'm Wana Summers. |
| 1:22.1 | It's consider this from NPR. |
| 1:27.4 | Farmers, landscapers in the hospitality industry have long argued that the U.S. government doesn't issue |
| 1:28.8 | enough temporary visas to meet seasonal labor needs. Current limits under Trump's second term have made |
| 1:34.9 | the problem worse, and farmers in rural Louisiana are feeling that pinch. NPR's Debbie Elliott |
| 1:41.2 | picks up the story from here. Alan Lawson checks on his crawfish pond in Crowley, Louisiana, meeting the boat as it pulls ashore with the morning's catch. |
| 1:51.1 | Does it work? |
| 1:52.3 | A bit slower, but it's good. |
| 1:54.7 | More time. |
... |
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