As the last of the season’s Christmas trees are loaded onto a truck at Wolf Creek Tree Farm and Nursery in Cullowhee, North Carolina, the air is relaxed and merry. This hardworking crew of men from Mexico are temporary agricultural workers under the H-2A visa program, and they will soon return home to celebrate Christmas with their families.
Nahuel Hernández Nabor, who has made the journey from Tlaxcala in central Mexico for 26 years, describes the intense work that goes into caring for these trees – weeding, fertilising, pruning and administering pesticides. The most demanding period is in November when the trees are cut, tied, carried and loaded onto trailers. “Last week, we were working from seven in the morning to eight at night,” he tells The Update Desk in Spanish.
Despite the long hours and time away from his wife and two children, Nabor will likely return to the US next April. But he’s uncertain, as the Trump administration’s new wage guidelines for H-2A visas could cut wages by $5 to $7 an hour, saving employers up to $2.5bn annually. “We do it for the money,” Nabor says. “If it’s not worth it, then we’re not going to come.”
Nearly one in four Christmas trees sold in the US comes from North Carolina, where the native Fraser fir is prized for its natural pyramid shape, needle retention and strong pine scent. An estimated 4,000 H-2A workers at peak harvest time are crucial to the state’s $144m Christmas tree industry.
“We just don’t even consider any other type of labour force,” says Renee Beutell, president of Wolf Creek. The Beutell family has participated in the H-2A program since the 1980s, as American workers rarely last long in the physically demanding work.
The gruelling nature of the job takes a toll, with workers experiencing musculoskeletal issues, vision problems and mental health challenges due to isolation. “It’s like being in prison,” says Margarito Salcido, who has worked at Wolf Creek for 13 years.
Some workers, like Roberto Ceballo, have found opportunity in the industry, falling in love, studying law and earning enough to support their families in Mexico. But this season, many feel uneasy, fearing increased immigration enforcement and the impact of wage cuts. “We feel like what we do – our work – isn’t valued,” Ceballo says.
As the industry grapples with rising costs and the growing popularity of artificial trees, the potential loss of this vital migrant workforce could be a “devastating blow” to North Carolina’s regional economy, says Marianne Martinez of Vecinos, a non-profit providing healthcare to immigrant workers. “It would be like the Grinch.”