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Mexican Women Are A Lifeline For Maryland's Crab Industry

Harry Phillips with master picker Elpidia Martinez, one of 600 Mexican seasonal migrant workers, mostly women, who get H-2B visas to work in Maryland. The state’s seafood industry says each worker supports 2.5 American jobs. (Armando Trull/WAMU)
Harry Phillips with master picker Elpidia Martinez, one of 600 Mexican seasonal migrant workers, mostly women, who get H-2B visas to work in Maryland. The state’s seafood industry says each worker supports 2.5 American jobs. (Armando Trull/WAMU)

Each summer, around 600 Mexican women come to Hooper’s Island in Maryland under the H-2B visa program to do jobs their employers say Americans don’t want.

Armando Trull (@trulldc) of WAMU reports that for more than two decades, the women have helped keep the iconic seafood alive.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.