Tag Archives: H2B visas
Texas: New shrimp season tangled up in regulations
That plate of fried shrimp people enjoy at a restaurant –whether locally or away from home – could either be taken off the menus or cost a lot more. The tastier Gulf shrimp caught by trawlers off the Texas Gulf Coast from the Brownsville/Port Isabel to the Palacios areas could also be replaced by farmed-raised crustaceans. That’s because this South Texas industry – one of the nation’s largest – is caught in the middle of a crisis caused by today’s U.S. immigration policies and by what is going on in countries south of Mexico. The expected arrival of hundreds of people who traditionally work on the boats, known as shrimp headers, is on halt right now; yet the kickoff of the 2022 season is about two weeks away. >click to read< 17:53
Palacios job fair hopes to fill needed shrimping positions
The shrimping season is around the corner and thousands of shrimpers will be clamoring for jobs on shrimp boats throughout the Texas Gulf Coast. However, finding enough workers to take those jobs may prove harder this year than last. With that in mind, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold have scheduled a job fair for April 10 from 9 a.m. to noon in Palacios to fill dozens of jobs. In the past, the shrimping industry relied on H2B visas to hire foreign workers for seasonal shrimping jobs. Farenthold has teamed with the TWC to fill these jobs with as many Americans as possible due to a high demand for H2B visas. >click to read<17:17
Valley Shrimping Industry Struggles While Waiting for Visas
A Brownsville shrimp boat owner said he’s losing thousands of dollars every day in the industry. Carlton Reyes is in his 48th shrimping season. Every year, he said he searches for workers to bring in what often adds up to thousands of pounds of shrimp daily. Now, he is waiting for a group of Mexican workers he has had for years. The White House administration held up the H2B visas until last week. Reyes said it’s a difficult job and having to rely on inexperienced workers can be a problem. “I had a boat at the dock this morning that came in because the two guys we took out as deckhands quit,” he said. “So now we’re trying to find someone to go back out.” video, click here to read the story 09:44
