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It’s tomato season and Lidia is harvesting on farms in California’s Central Valley.She is also anxious. Attention from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could upend her life more than 23 years after she illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border as a teenager.“The worry is they’ll pull you over when you’re driving and ask for your papers,” said Lidia, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition that only her first name be used because of her fears of deportation. “We need to work. We need to feed our families and pay our rent.”As parades and other events celebrating the contributions of workers in the U.S. are held Monday for the Labor Day holiday, experts say President Donald Trump’s stepped-up immigration policies are impacting the nation’s labor force.More than 1.2 million immigrants disappeared from the labor force from January through the end of July, according to preliminary Census Bureau data analyzed by the Pew Research Center. That includes people who are in the country illegally as well as legal residents.Immigrants make up almost 20% of the U.S. workforce and that data shows 45% of workers in farming, fishing and forestry are immigrants, according to Pew senior researcher Stephanie Kramer. About 30% of all construction workers are immigrants and 24% of service workers are immigrants, she added.The loss in immigrant workers comes as the nation is seeing the first decline in the overall immigrant population after the number of people in the U.S. illegally reached an all-time high of 14 million in 2023.“It’s unclear how much of the decline we’ve seen since January is due to voluntary departures to pursue other opportunities or avoid deportation, removals, underreporting or other technical issues,” Kramer said. “However, we don’t believe that the preliminary numbers indicating net-negative migration are so far off that the decline isn’t real.”Trump campaigned on a promise to deport millions of immigrants working in the U.S. illegally. He has said he is focusing deportation efforts on “dangerous criminals,” but most people detained by ICE have no criminal convictions. At the same time, the number of illegal border crossings has plunged under his policies.Pia Orrenius, a labor economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said immigrants normally contribute at least 50% of job growth in the U.S.“The influx across the border from what we can tell is essentially stopped, and that’s where we were getting millions and millions of migrants over the last four years,” she said. “That has had a huge impact on the ability to create jobs.” ‘Crops did go to waste’ Just across the border from Mexico in McAllen, Texas, corn and cotton fields are about ready for harvesting. Elizabeth Rodriguez worries there won’t be enough workers available for the gins and other machinery once the fields are cleared.Immigration enforcement actions at farms, businesses and construction sites brought everything to a standstill, said Rodriguez, director of farmworker advocacy for the National Farmworker Ministry.“In May, during the peak of our watermelon and cantaloupe season, it delayed it. A lot of crops did go to waste,” she said.In Ventura County, California, northwest of Los Angeles, Lisa Tate manages her family business that grows citrus fruits, avocados and coffee on eight ranches and 800 acres (323 hectares).Most of the men and women who work their farms are contractor-provided day laborers. There were days earlier this year when crews would be smaller. Tate is hesitant to place that blame on immigration policies. But the fear of ICE raids spread quickly.Dozens of area farmworkers were arrested late this spring.“People were being taken out of laundromats, off the side of the road,” Tate said.Lidia, the farmworker who spoke to the AP through an interpreter, said her biggest fear is being sent back to Mexico. Now 36, she is married with three school-age children who were born here.“I don’t know if I’ll be able to bring my kids,” said Lidia. “I’m also very concerned I’d have to start from zero. My whole life has been in the United States.” From construction to health care Construction sites in and around McAllen also “are completely dead,” Rodriguez said.“We have a large labor force that is undocumented,” she said. “We’ve seen ICE particularly targeting construction sites and attempting to target mechanic and repair shops.”The number of construction jobs are down in about half of U.S. metropolitan areas, according to an Associated General Contractors of America analysis of government employment data. The largest loss of 7,200 jobs was in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California, area. The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale area lost 6,200 jobs.“Construction employment has stalled or retreated in many areas for a variety of reasons,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “But contractors report they would hire more people if only they could find more qualified and willing workers and tougher immigration enforcement wasn’t disrupting labor supplies.”Kramer, with Pew, also warns about the potential impact on health care. She says immigrants make up about 43% of home health care aides.The Service Employees International Union represents about 2 million workers in health care, the public sector and property services. An estimated half of long-term care workers who are members of SEIU 2015 in California are immigrants, said Arnulfo De La Cruz, the local’s president.“What’s going to happen when millions of Americans can no longer find a home care provider?” De La Cruz said. “What happens when immigrants aren’t in the field to pick our crops? Who’s going to staff our hospitals and nursing homes?” _ An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to the name of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The name is not Immigration Control and Enforcement. Corey Williams, Associated Press
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In mid-August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an advisory stating that select shrimp products destined for stores in the United States may be contaminated with Cesium-137 (Cs-137), a radioactive isotope that could have devastating health consequences. Now, the FDA has issued additional alerts covering additional products that may be contaminated with the radioactive isotope, including some sold at major grocery store chains like Kroger. Heres what you need to know. Whats happened? In August, the FDA issued a food safety advisory alerting the pubic to potential Cs-137 contamination in select shrimp products. Fast Company previously reported on the potentially radioactive shrimp that were sold at Walmart under the Great Value brand. A few days later, the FDA issued an additional notice expanding the radioactive shrimp recall to additional brands, including Sand Bar, Arctic Shores, Best Yet, Great American, and First Street. At the heart of the recall is shrimp manufactured by an Indonesian-based supplier called BMS Foods. U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) detected Cs-137 in shipping containers at four U.S. ports, which alerted the agency to the possibility of contaminated products. Why is Cs-137 bad? Due to nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s and 1960s, there are already trace amounts of Cs-137 in the environment. But exposure to larger concentrated amountslike contaminated foodcan cause serious health effects. Cs-137 can damage DNA, leading to an increased risk of cancer. Ingestion of Cs-137 can also lead to acute radiation sickness. After the CBPs discovery, the FDA posted two recall notices covering shrimp products sourced from BMS Foods. Now, the FDA has issued another three recall notices expanding the number of potentially radioactive shrimp products consumers should be on the lookout for. What are the latest recalled products? On August 28, the FDA published a new recall alert covering select shrimp products sold at Kroger and other grocery stores. Under this recall, approximately 18,000 2lbs bags of Kroger Mercado Cooked Medium Peeled Tail-Off Shrimp are being recalled due to the possibility of exposure to Cs-137. The recalled products have the following codes: UPC 011110626196, Lot code 10662 5139, Best Before 11/19/2027 UPC 011110626196, Lot code 10662 5140, Best Before 11/20/2027 The recalled products were sold between July 24 and August 11, 2025, at the following grocery stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, New England, Ohio, South Caroline, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia: Bakers Gerbes Jay C Kroger Marianos Metro Market Pay Less Supermarkets Pick n Save Also on August 28, the FDA posted another radioactive shrimp recall notice for approximately 26,460 packages of Cocktail Shrimp 6oz manufactured by AquaStar (USA) Corp of Seattle, Washington, due to the possibility of exposure to Cs-137. The product has the UPC code 19434612191 and the Lot Codes 10662 5106, 10662 5107, 10662 5124, and 10662 5125. This recalled product was sold between July 31 and August 16, 2025 at Walmart stores in Arkansas, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North dakaota, New England, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. Fast Company reached out to Kroger and AquaStar for comment. One day later, the FDA posted yet another recall notice, this one for frozen shrimp produced by Southwind Foods, LLC of Carson, California, due to the possibility of exposure to Cs-137. This recalled shrimp was distributed to unnamed retailers, distributors, and wholesalers in Alabama, Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, and Washington between July 17 – August 8, 2025. What should I do if I have the radioactive shrimp products? It should be noted that Cs-137 hasnt been confirmed to be present in all the recalled shrimp products above. Rather, the products are at risk of being contaminated with Cs-137. As of the time of this writing, there are no known illnesses attributed to any of the recalled shrimp products with the potential for Cs-137 contamination. The FDA says that if you have any of the recalled products, you should not consume them. Instead, you should dispose of the recalled shrimp products or return them to their place of purchase for a refund.
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E-Commerce
Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami, one of Japan’s best-known business leaders, has resigned from the beverage group following a police investigation into his purchase of a supplement that may have breached the country’s strict drug laws. Niinami, who has served as an adviser to several Japanese prime ministers and was often the face of corporate Japan at Davos and other international events, told Suntory he purchased the supplement believing it was legal, the company said on Tuesday. The Tokyo Shimbun daily reported that police in Fukuoka prefecture are investigating whether supplements containing cannabis components had been sent to Niinami’s home a probe that is connected to a man who was arrested in July. Other Japanese media said the supplements allegedly contained THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis, which is illegal in Japan. CBD, a separate chemical compound from the cannabis plant, however, is legal, and products containing it are available in Japan. Suntory, which makes whisky, beer and soft drinks such as Orangina-branded soda, said Niinami told the company he was the subject of a police investigation on August 22. He resigned on September 1. Reuters was not able to immediately reach Niinami for comment. Niinami, 66, significantly expanded Suntory’s revenue and profits, joining the drinks maker as president in 2014 shortly after it purchased U.S. spirits company Beam for $16 billion, including debt. “He was a bold, decisive leader who got things done and I truly respected him,” Suntory President Nobuhiro Torii told a press briefing. “In that respect and I told this to him yesterday as well it’s a real shame that we couldn’t continue as a team,” he said. Torii, a former banker and great-grandson of Suntory founder Shinjiro Torii, said he would now be fully helming the company. According to Tokyo Shimbun, police questioned Niinami and searched his Tokyo home, but no illegal drug possession or use has been confirmed. A Fukuoka Police official was not immediately available to comment on the reports. Niinami, a fluent English speaker, is chair of the powerful Keizai Doyukai business lobby. Known for being outspoken, he wasn’t hesitant to voice his opinion on how Japan’s economy should be managed or how the central bank should act. Keizai Doyukai officials were not immediately available for comment. A graduate of Harvard Business School, he was previously chief executive of convenience store operator Lawson before becoming Suntory’s president, the first head of the firm from outside its founding family. Japan has strict drug laws. Late last year, Japanese endoscope manufacturer Olympus Corp sacked then-CEO Stefan Kaufmann after an allegation that he had purchased illegal drugs. In 2015, police arrested Toyota Motor executive Julie Hamp, an American, on suspicion of illegally importing the painkiller oxycodone into the country. She was later released. Suntory is not publicly traded but shares in a listed unit, Suntory Beverage & Food, which manages its non-alcoholic beverages and food products business, were not overly affected, ending Tuesday up 3%. Additional reporting by Chang-Ran Kim, Kentaro Okasaka, Satoshi Sugiyama and Kathleen Benoza Anton Bridge and Mariko Katsumura, Reuters
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