KEYRIS MANZANARES: Alejandro Cruz was once a migrant farm worker who picked and harvested tomatoes and later scallops on Virginia's Eastern Shore.

(Alejandro speaking Spanish) KEYRIS MANZANARES: Cruz says he takes pride in knowing he helped fill shelves at grocery stores, but it came at a cost.

(Alejandro speaking Spanish) KEYRIS MANZANARES: When summertime hits and tomato season starts, Cruz says, migrant camps on the eastern shore come alive with people arriving from Mexico, Central America, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti.

Lipman family farms hires the largest number of agricultural workers who come to Virginia on temporary work permits called H2A Visas.

Often one of the first people these workers meet is Cecilia Hernandez, with Legal Aid Justice Center.

(Cecilia speaking Spanish) KEYRIS MANZANARES: Working conditions in the fields can be grueling for migrant workers due to a lack of many essential protections.

Workers also face isolation and hunger.

Hernandez says, when there's no work due to rain or harvest, there is no pay.

(Alejandro speaking Spanish) KEYRIS MANZANARES: In 2020, poultry plants in Accomack County were hotspots for COVID-19.

Most recently, Tyson and Purdue are facing a federal investigation after reports surfaced that migrant children were helping clean the company's plants.

In search of better pay, Cruz left the tomato industry and started fishing scallops.

He says he was able to prosper and provide a better life for his family.

(Alejandro speaking Spanish) KEYRIS MANZANARES: Hernandez says a challenge faced by many Latinos on the Shore is misinformation surrounding tax filing and H-2A Visa requirements.

(Cecilia speaking Spanish) KEYRIS MANZANARES: Juan Gomez is a part of that second generation.

Born and raised on the shore by Mexican parents, Gomez stepped up to the plate when he saw how COVID-19 affected the tight-knit Latino community.

JUAN GOMEZ: I think it's just seeing a younger me just look in the eyes of our kids that come to our clinics and understand the importance of maybe not having adequate housing, maybe not having adequate food supplies, or currently, “Do my parents know what health insurance is?

” KEYRIS MANZANARES: As an outreach specialist for Eastern Shore Rural Health, Gomez makes sure that migrant workers and longtime Latino residents have access to care.

In 2022, the center served 1,308 migrant and seasonal farm workers.

JUAN GOMEZ: Our migrant population is here on a seasonal basis, so when they're here, we provide all the health services that we can.

My team goes out and does blood pressure checks, does glucose checks.

We are making sure that our population that's here is being seen and that their voices are being heard.

KEYRIS MANZANARES: The importance of bilingual education is what drove Zorylu Bonilla to move to the Shore in 2002 to teach at Accomack County Public Schools.

ZORYLU BONILLA: My first job here as a teacher was as a bilingual kindergarten teacher.

It was a pilot program at Accomack Elementary School.

Well, it grew to the point where maybe more than half of the classroom be Latinos in some classrooms.

In the high schools, you walk down the hallways, a lot of faces that are of Latino heritage.

KEYRIS MANZANARES: Bonilla says, these students, along with their families, have added rich and varied traditions to the depth of culture on the Shore.

ZORYLU BONILLA: We see a lot of variety of Latinos here.

We have entrepreneurs, we have workers in the field, we have workers in the chicken factories.

We have teachers.

We are definitely growing here and making this community a part of us, and we are becoming a part of the community as well.

KEYRIS MANZANARES: Liliana Velasquez came to the Eastern Shore in 2002 as an agriculture worker.

Now she's a proud business owner on Chincoteague Island.

(Lilian speaking Spanish) KEYRIS MANZANARES: When it comes to the impact of Latinos on the Shore, Velasquez says... (Lilian speaking Spanish) KEYRIS MANZANARES: For Alejandro Cruz, it's been a long journey.

He was able to bring his wife to the Shore and raise his children all while extending a lending hand to those in need.

(Alejandro speaking Spanish) KEYRIS MANZANARES: For VPM News, I'm Keyris Manzanares.