Stories: Mattawa: 15-indra-39

Workers take to the fields at Stemilt Orchards in Mattawa, Washington August 22, 2013 where they earn less than a dollar a bucket for the apples that they pick. Almost everyone says they are here illegally from Mexico, putting them at the center of the coming debate over citizenship. Washington is the nation’s leading apple producer, and none of the farmers in the Mattawa area was, as of last year, registered with E-verify, a free US government service that checks workers’ papers.

Workers take to the fields at Stemilt Orchards in Mattawa, Washington August 22, 2013 where they earn less than a dollar a bucket for the apples that they pick. Almost everyone says they are here illegally from Mexico, putting them at the center of the coming debate over citizenship. Washington is the nation’s leading apple producer, and none of the farmers in the Mattawa area was, as of last year, registered with E-verify, a free US government service that checks workers’ papers.