Maryland's Trump country wants its seasonal workers back

A woman picks crab meat.
(Image credit: ROD LAMKEY JR/AFP/Getty Images)

The crabbing industry in Hoopers Island, Maryland, has been decimated by the Trump administration's visa caps, NBC News reported Tuesday.

Hoopers Island lies in a county that overwhelmingly voted for President Trump, but now that peak crabbing season has begun, locals are disappointed that new policies have negatively affected small businesses. The Trump administration this year restricted H-2B visas, which allow seasonal employees to come from abroad with temporary work authorization. On Hoopers Island, 40 percent of the H-2B visas have vanished, leaving crabbing businesses without much-needed labor.

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Summer Meza, The Week US

Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.