Undocumented farmworkers push Congress for protections amid historic heat

A recent string of heat-related deaths has added urgency for advocates to push for undocumented farmworkers to gain legal status.

Sebastian Francisco Perez, a 38-year-old undocumented farmworker from Guatemala, was working at a tree farm in Oregon on June 26 when he died during the record-breaking heat wave that swept across the region. "He had dreams of starting a family with his wife, Maria, who is in Guatemala right now. ... He was only here for two months without papers, trying to save up money to start fertility treatments," said Reyna Lopez, the executive director of PCUN, a farmworker union based in Oregon. As temperatures reached 115 degrees in the Pacific Northwest in late June, a spotlight has again shined on the brutal and, at times, life-threatening conditions some farmworkers in America face. Perez's death has added urgency to a push for undocumented farmworkers to gain legal immigration status, which advocates say is needed for them to fight for basic worker protections.