For 15 years, Juana has labored on farms in Michigan, picking cherries, peaches, grapes and most recently, packing eggs.
In April, she became infected with the coronavirus and fell ill for a month and a half, causing her to miss out on work that she relies on to pay her bills.
"COVID-19 has affected me in a lot of ways, mentally, financially, economically," Juana, 39, said through a translator. "I was infected with COVID-19 because at work they did not provide us with security protections, did not give us masks. We had to buy masks with our own money. And many of us at work got sick due to the lack of protective equipment at our workplaces."
On Thursday, she joined immigrant advocates in calling upon farms to increase coronavirus testing and to provide better protections for farm workers, most of whom are Latino immigrants. Juana, who did not want to reveal her last name, spoke at an online press conference organized by the Michigan Immigrant Rights Centers and other advocacy groups.
"Farm workers want a safe workplace," Diana Marin, supervising attorney at Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, said. "They want to know if their coworkers have COVID or not. They want to protect their families and the broader community too."
It's unclear how many farm workers have tested positive for the coronavirus, but state officials have said the number of outbreaks at various locations has spiked from 11 to 21 this summer, alarming migrant advocates.
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"Farm workers go out every day to support their family," Juana said. "We work under extreme climates." And now they're risking their health during the pandemic, she said, "afraid of making our family sick.
"While most people in the country are sheltered in their homes, with their family safe without missing something to eat, we are working," she said. "If there were no farm workers ... no one would have anything to eat."
On Thursday, immigration attorneys with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center and other groups filed a friend of the court brief with the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, opposing a lawsuit that was filed by attorneys representing farms trying to block a state order mandating coronavirus testing for farm workers.
"We need to make sure the court and the public understand what this case is really about and why it is so important to uphold the emergency health order" by the state, Marin, an immigration attorney, said.
On Aug. 3, the state of Michigan ordered farms, migrant camps and food processing centers to test all workers for the coronavirus and have protections for their workers. A lawsuit was then filed on behalf of farms who alleged the order unfairly singles out them and discriminates against Latino workers.
"The ... emergency order has the potential to completely uproot the lives of many Latino agricultural workers and threatens their livelihoods," said the Michigan Farm Bureau, a group that represents Michigan farmers and supports the lawsuit.
Immigrant advocates countered by saying the lawsuit was a cynical invoking of civil rights law to push the interests of farm owners, not Latino workers.
"Without this (state) mandate, the agricultural industry will continue to prioritize their own short term profits over the health of their workforce, the general public and the overall economy," Marin said Thursday. "The state is providing significant support to the agricultural industry to meet their obligations under the order. This includes millions of dollars in agricultural safety grants, reimbursement through health insurance and the option to directly request state assistance, to test workers and provide free quarantine housing."
On Aug. 21, Judge Paul Maloney of the Western District of Michigan ruled in favor of the state, rejecting a request by the farmers for an emergency injunction blocking the order.
On Monday, a...

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