The abusers are well aware of the relative power they have over their victims and so certain groups seem to be particularly vulnerable, Human Rights Watch found. These include girls and young women, recent immigrants, single women, and indigenous women, especially those with limited ability to speak Spanish or English.

“Farmworker women can feel utterly powerless in the face of abusive supervisors or employers, and with good reason,” Meng said. “The abusers often repeat their actions over long periods of time, even after some workers complain.”

Farmworker victims of sexual abuse face significant hurdles to obtaining justice. At least 50 percent of the agricultural workforce consists of unauthorized immigrants, who fear being deported if they complain.

One farmworker told Human Rights Watch that she had been deported while her sexual harassment lawsuit was pending. When another unauthorized immigrant overcame her fear of the police to report her rape to them, her supervisor was arrested. But rather than being charged and prosecuted, he was deported, and she had heard reports that he planned to come back.

Even the small proportion of immigrant farmworkers working with guest worker visas are vulnerable because they are dependent on their employers to remain in legal status, and thus are often just as reluctant to report workplace abuses.

The few victims who do report the abuse face lengthy and difficult legal processes that are sometimes impossible to access for migratory, low-income workers with limited English proficiency. Furthermore, the increased involvement of local law enforcement in immigration enforcement through programs like Secure Communities and state laws like Arizona’s SB 1070 and Alabama’s HB 56 have fueled fears of the police and other governmental authorities in rural immigrant communities.

US law does provide one limited but important protection for some immigrant farmworkers who are survivors of sexual violence, Human Rights Watch said. The U visa provides temporary legal status to victims of certain serious crimes if they have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse and if they cooperate with the investigation. The visa thus encourages unauthorized immigrants to report crimes to the police.

Yet even this limited protection could soon be eviscerated. As Congress debates the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, proposed provisions to strengthen the U visa have come under attack, while some versions of the bill in the House have imposed arbitrary and unreasonable barriers to survivors applying for the U visa.

“Every day that it fails to enact immigration reform, Congress puts more farmworker women at risk for sexual abuse,” Meng said. “The least Congress can do now is to reauthorize VAWA with stronger protections for immigrant women.”

As important as they are, the proposed provisions strengthening the U visa would not overcome all the barriers that farmworkers face to seeking remedies for sexual abuse, Human Rights Watch said. To apply for a U visa the victim must get a certification that he or she cooperated with a law enforcement investigation. But law enforcement officials vary widely in their willingness to certify victims, due to a mistaken belief that they are helping unauthorized immigrants “get green cards.”

Farmworkers are also excluded from basic worker protection laws that apply to nearly every other worker in the US, including prohibitions against child labor and protection of the right to collective bargaining. The laws that do apply are not adequately enforced, and many farmworkers who spoke to Human Rights Watch reported experiencing or witnessing other workplace violations, such as wage theft, pesticide exposure, and child labor. In such an environment, farmworkers are unlikely to have faith in the ability of employers and authorities to rectify abuses, including sexual abuses.

Finally, like other victims of sexual assault in the US, farmworker survivors often encounter law enforcement agencies that do not vigorously investigate complaints.

Both international law and US law recognize that all workers, including unauthorized immigrant workers, are entitled to the same workplace protections as US workers. These provisions exist to minimize employers’ incentives to hire an easily exploitable workforce.

Human Rights Watch urges the US government and employers to take the following key steps to ensure safer working conditions for immigrant farmworkers, including unauthorized workers:

To the United States Congress:

Pass the Senate version of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization bill (S. 1952) or similar legislation, which would provide specific funding and attention to survivors of sexual assault, including stronger protections for immigrant farmworker women and girls.

Enact immigration legislation that would reduce the incidence of serious abuse of immigrant workers’ rights, including by reforming the existing agricultural guest worker program and creating a program of earned legalization for the unauthorized farmworkers already in the US.

Eliminate the exclusion of farmworkers from important laws providing labor protections like the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

To US Department of Homeland Security:

Repeal programs such as Secure Communities that require or encourage local police to enforce federal immigration laws.

To police and sheriffs:

Investigate vigorously all complaints by immigrants of sexual violence, regardless of immigration status.

Assure unauthorized immigrants that people who report crimes will not be reported to immigration authorities.

To agricultural employers: