Immigrants sustain the Central Valley, yet many remain locked out of power | Opinion
The Central Valley is nearing what feels like a critical point. For too long, we have been overlooked, underestimated and — most dangerously — disconnected from the decisions that shape our future.
Valley residents are among the hardest-working people in the country — building homes, harvesting crops and propping up one of the foundations of California’s economy. Yet we remain excluded from power, policy and meaningful visibility. Our representation on a national level feels almost non-existent.
Nowhere is that exclusion more visible than in the lives and communities of immigrants.
I grew up in this Valley, raised by immigrant hands that, to this day, are continuously moving. And like many of our youth, I left as soon as I could. I left unsure of what the future held, with a strong belief that any future for myself could not exist here.
After finally returning half a decade later, not by choice, but by necessity, I saw what I grew up with reflected everywhere: families still fighting for basic dignity, working people still scraping by and communities that wanted to be seen for who they are now hiding out of fear.
When I arrived, I thought this was a mere pit stop in my journey. But this time, I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to speak out.
Immigration has been the subject of endless debates — from the halls of Congress, to universities and Sunday’s dinner table. But here in the Central Valley, this isn’t theoretical, it’s personal. It’s foundational: It’s the hands that feed us, the backs that lift us and the lives that sustain our community — especially as a heavily dependent agricultural region.
According to the California Budget & Policy Center, over half of all workers in California are either immigrants or the children of immigrants. In the Central Valley, that number is even more impactful for us. It’s visible in the fields, factories, construction sites and classrooms that run because of immigrant labor.
UC Merced estimates that at least half of California’s 255,700 farmworkers are undocumented. Without them, there is a gaping hole in our agriculture, our supply chain and our local economy.
For all that immigrants give, most remain locked out of the systems they uphold. They pay taxes, but can’t vote. They work through extreme heat and economic insecurity, but have no say in the laws that affect their health, wages and housing. These people are Americans in every way but one, yet the doors still remain closed.
This “nation of immigrants” has lost its way. We’ve become experts at depending on immigrant labor, while simultaneously denying immigrants humanity. If the Central Valley wants a future that reflects all of its people, we need to stop treating immigration as a problem and start recognizing it as a path forward to strengthen our nation.
Immigrants and their children are not just the workforce, they are the future. Most importantly, they are our neighbors and our friends. We should be doing everything we can to create pathways for legalization and for leadership. The more we lock immigrants out of civic life, the more we weaken the very foundation of our communities across the Central Valley.
We can create a Central Valley reality where immigrant families don’t just survive in the shadows, but thrive in the spotlight, and where labor is valued — not just exploited.
Nobody is coming to save the Central Valley. We can — and must — do it ourselves. That starts by recognizing that immigrant power isn’t something to fear. It’s something to finally embrace.
Sosa Wences is a Central Valley advocate and organizer focused on immigration, civic engagement and building local leadership. He founded the W.F.O. Foundation to help empower working families and strengthen grassroots voices across the region.