This chapter will discuss the family composition and living arrangements
of the farm workers interviewed by this survey. We will examine the
marital and parental status of farm workers, the number of people with
whom they lived, and their relationships to their living companions.
- Two in five married farm workers were living away from their spouses
while doing farm work; the same proportion were living away from their
children while doing farm work. Moreover, the proportion seemed to be
increasing in recent years.
- Most adult farm workers (three-fifths) were married.
- Approximately one-half of the adult farm workers were parents of
children under age 18; forty-three percent of adult farm workers were
parents of children ages 14 and under.
- Eighty-one percent of farm worker parents of small children were
foreign-born.
- Fifty-six percent of all farm workers lived in living situations
which contained unrelated individuals.
- Half of the male farm workers lived in living situations which were
made up exclusively of people unrelated to themselves, while only one in
ten women farm workers lived solely with unrelated persons.
- Nearly half of all farm workers lived in living situations which
contained family members.
- Over one-third (37%) of U.S. born farm workers were likely to be
married to someone who was born in Mexico.
- About seven percent of married Mexican-born farm workers had spouses
who were born in the United States.
Most (three-fifths) farm workers who were 18 years or older were
married; however, this proportion varied by place of birth. While farm
workers born in the United States were less likely than foreign-born
workers to be married (49% and 64%, respectively), male and female farm
workers were equally likely to be married (60% and 62%, respectively).
Forty-five percent of U.S. born men were married, while 64% of
foreign-born men were married. Similarly, 56% of the U.S. born women were
married, while 68% of the foreign-born women were married (see Figure
2.1).
| Figure 2.1 |
 |
| Source: NAWS 1994-95 |
Within the farm workers' community there is considerable cross-marriage
of U.S. born Hispanics to Mexicans. Looking first at the farm workers who
were born in the United States, we found those farm workers were likely to
be married to someone who was born in Mexico. Among the married U.S. born
Hispanic male farm workers, 27 percent had Mexican wives. Among the
married U.S. born Hispanic women, almost two thirds (65%) had Mexican
husbands. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of the Mexican spouses in these
marriages had worked as farm workers.
If we look at the Mexican-born farm workers, the percentages are quite
different. Among married male Mexican farm workers, only 7 percent had
U.S. born wives. Among married female Mexican farm workers, 8 percent had
U.S. born husbands. About one-third (36%) of the U.S. born spouses in
these marriages had worked as farm workers. Because these families had one
adult who was born in the United States, family members are more likely
than families with no U.S. born adults to benefit from social service
programs.
Approximately half of the adult farm workers were parents children ages
17 and younger. Almost three-fifths (58%) of the adult female farm workers
were parents, while just under half (47%) of the male farm workers were
parents. Foreign-born farm workers were more likely than U.S. born farm
workers to be parents (53% and 39%, respectively). This also held true
when looking at men and women separately. Among men, 52% of the
foreign-born workers were parents, while only 31% of U.S. born workers
were parents. For women, 63% of the foreign-born workers were parents,
while only 53% of the U.S. born workers were parents.
Forty-three percent of adult farm workers were parents of children ages
14 and under: 14% had one child in this age group, 22% had two or three
children, and 7% had four or more children. Half of the foreign-born
workers had children's ages 14 or under, while only 28% of the U.S. born
workers had children in this age group. Eighty-one percent of farm worker
parents of small children were foreign born. Later in this chapter, we
will discuss the issue of whether these children were living with their
parents.
Some farm workers (8%) were themselves minors. Of these, the percentage
of young farm workers (age 17 and younger) who were married is quite small
(4%). Generally, more young women were married than young men (9% and 3%,
respectively). Young foreign-born workers were more likely to be married
than their U.S. born counterparts (12% and 4%, respectively, over all
years of the survey). Approximately 4% of these young farm workers had
children of their own.
The survey found that 10% of all farm workers lived completely alone,
not sharing their residences with family members, work mates, or other
individuals. The level of farm workers who lived alone varied by ethnic
group. Fewer than 10 percent of the U.S. born Hispanic farm
| Figure 2.2 |
 |
| Source: NAWS 1994-95 |
workers or the farm workers born in Mexico or other Latin American
countries lived alone, while as many as 27% of the non-white, non-Hispanic
U.S. born farm workers lived by themselves. Similar proportions of men and
women workers lived by themselves without any living mates (8% of the
women workers and 11% of the men workers).
Farm workers born in the United States were more likely than
foreign-born workers to live in living situations which contained only one
or two other people (44% versus 19%, respectively), whether or not these
other people were related. Foreign-born workers, on the other hand, were
more likely than U.S. born workers to share a residence with many (i.e.,
five or more) people (46% versus 19%, respectively)
About half (48%) of all farm workers lived in living situations which
contained family members (spouses or children, as well as siblings or
other relatives). Seven out of ten U.S. born farm workers lived with
family, while not more than four in ten of the foreign-born workers lived
with family members (see Figure 2.2).
A majority of farm workers now do U.S. farm work away from their nuclear
families. Forty-four percent of farm workers in FY 1994-95 were
accompanied by a spouse, a child, or a parent who lived in their
households. This percentage had declined since FY 1990-91, when
three-fifths (61%) of farm workers lived with a spouse, a child, or a
parent.
While most adult farm workers were married, a sizeable percentage of
them lived without their spouses while doing farm work. Two-fifths of
married farm workers were interviewed while living away from their
spouses. The proportions of farm workers living without their spouses
varied strikingly by the gender and the national origin of the farm
worker. One-half of the
| Figure 2.3 |
 |
| Source: NAWS 1994-95 |
married male farm workers lived without their wives, while only 9% of
the married female Farm workers lived without their husbands. One-half of
the foreign-born married workers lived without their spouses, while only
16% of the U.S. born workers were without their spouses (see Figure 2.3).
There is evidence from the survey that the high rate of separation of
men from their families is part of a pattern of immigration among Mexican
farm workers employed in the United States in which the men enter the
United States prior to their wives. Among female Mexican farm workers only
11 percent came before their husbands to the United States. Among the
males, 67 percent came before their wives. A minority of couples entered
the United States at the same time; this pattern accounted for 30% of the
female and 22% of the male farm workers.
| Figure 2.4 |
 |
| Source: NAWS 1994-95 |
In addition to separation from their spouses, many farm workers were
separated from their children while working in farm work. Of farm workers
who had children, two in five (42%) reported that their children lived in
other locations (see Figure 2.4). Looking further at
this situation, the survey found that nearly two-fifths (38%) of the
farm worker parents who had children age 14 and under reported that these
children lived in other locations, while 13% of the farm worker parents
who had children age 15 and older (into adulthood) reported that these
children lived in other locations. (Nine percent of the farm worker
parents had children in both age groups who lived in other locations.)
Men were more likely to be separated from their children than were
women. In FY 1994-95, half (49%) of the male farm workers who had children
reported that their children lived in other locations, an increase from
35% in FY 1989. On the other hand, only 4% of the female farm workers who
had children reported that their children lived in other locations, down
from 8% in FY 1989.
A small percentage of all farm workers (9%) lived with one or both of
their parents. The proportion of farm workers who lived with their parents
rose dramatically when looking only at the farm workers who were age 17 or
younger: 53% lived with at least one parent. Conversely, nearly half (47%)
of the younger farm workers lived on their own, away from their parents. A
much higher percentage of young U.S. born farm workers lived with their
parents compared to young farm workers who were born in other countries
(75% to 20%, respectively). The large group of foreign-born teenage farm
workers living without their parents (80%) may be of special interest to
social service delivery agencies.
In comparing farm workers born in the United States with those born in
other countries, we found that larger proportions of U.S. born farm
workers lived with their families than their foreign counterparts. Over
the years (1989 to 1995), approximately 8% of the U.S. born farm workers
who had close family lived away from these family members. On the other
hand, one-third of the foreign-born farm workers who had close family
lived away from their family members. Moreover, for the foreign born only,
the most recent two-year period showed a rise in this proportion. It rose
to 44%.
Women farm workers were more likely to live with family members than
were male farm workers. Nearly six out of ten female farm workers lived
solely with family members, while fewer than three in ten male farm
workers lived with family members only (see Figure 2.2).
Nearly all farm workers (94%) who lived in living situations that
contained family members were accompanied by at least one immediate family
member: a spouse, a child, or a parent. Looking at the households which
contained only family members, more than one-half of the U.S. born farm
workers (58%) lived with family members only, while fewer than one-quarter
of the foreign-born workers (23%) lived only with family (see Figure 2.2).
Of farm workers who lived in living situations with any family members,
approximately one-quarter lived with one family member, about one-quarter
lived with two family members, nearly two-fifths lived with three or four
family members, and one-eighth lived with five or more family members.
Some of the living arrangements of farm workers may contain non-family
residents as well as family. Among those farm workers who lived in a
nuclear family setting (containing a parent, spouse, or child), a
relatively high number had non-family members also living with them.
Grouping all farm workers together, one-fifth (20%) of these nuclear
families served as an anchor or host for non-family members. It is likely
in these cases that the majority of these non-family household members
were either work associates or people from the same sending areas abroad.
However, these "mixed households" were quite rare among the U.S.
born farm workers — just eight percent of the non-Hispanic and nine
percent of the Hispanic U.S. farm workers lived in living situations which
contained both immediate family members and non-family participants.
However, 29 percent of the Mexican-born and 41 percent of the other Latin
American-born farm workers living in a nuclear family setting had
non-family residing with them. The propensity for these workers, many of
whom did not live with members of their immediate families, to live with
non-relatives may have been driven in part by their need to pool
resources.
For all farm workers, 56% lived in living situations which contained
unrelated individuals (family members may have also been present). This
proportion varied widely by whether the farm worker was born in the United
States or not; over two-thirds of the foreign-born workers lived in living
situations that contained unrelated individuals, while approximately
one-quarter of workers born in the United States lived in such households.
The most common living pattern for farm workers was to live exclusively
with non-relatives. Male farm workers were much more likely than their
female counterparts to live in living situations with only unrelated
individuals. Half of the male farm workers lived in living situations made
up only of people who were not their relatives, while only 11% of the
women workers lived with unrelated persons only.
The inclination to live in living situations which contained only
unrelated individuals is particularly pronounced among the unauthorized
workers. Seventy-five percent of the unauthorized workers lived in living
situations which contained only people who were not related to themselves,
while only 36% of legal permanent residents (LPRs), 15% of citizens, and
23% of workers with other legal statuses lived in living situations which
contained only unrelated individuals.
The survey results imply that many of the workers who lived exclusively
with non-family members were occupying labor camps or lived jointly with
large numbers of people in small houses and apartments. This pattern
became apparent by comparing workers who lived with large numbers of
non-family members with other workers. For example, overall, about one in
five farm workers lived in housing provided by the employer to the worker,
and about one fourth of all farm workers reported that they lived on the
U.S. farm where they worked. However, if we look just at the one-sixth of
the farm worker population that lived exclusively with six or more
non-family living mates, we see that 55% lived in housing provided by the
employer; another third rented from a non-employer. Moreover, one-half of
these workers who lived with six or more non-relatives lived on the
employer's farm.
