Why focus on colonia residents and migrant farmworkers?
Migrant/farmworkers and residents of rural communities along the US-Mexican border known as colonias experience some of the worst housing conditions in the United States. Thirty percent of colonia residents live in poverty, and a staggering 61 percent of farmworkers live below the poverty level. These two underserved, rural populations have many similarities and yet face unique challenges. Colonias residents have an average income of just $5,000/year. The vast majority of “persistent poverty” counties are in the Texas border region. In migrant/farmworker communities 33% live in moderate to severe substandard housing, and 34% pay more than 1/3 of their income for housing. Colonias Colonias are rural communities located within 150 miles of the US-Mexican Border that often lack the basic infrastructure most Americans take for granted -running water, electricity, and paved roads. These mostly unincorporated communities began to be developed in the 1950s and continue to exist for a variety
