By Hazel Velasco Palacios and Kathleen Sexsmith, The Conversation, March 22 2025
“I had never worked with mushrooms before,” Luis said, reflecting on his time in Chester County’s mushroom industry. “But my family has always worked in agriculture, so I like it. I’m used to hard work.”
Luis, whose name is a pseudonym to protect his identity, is part of the latest wave of immigrant workers who have, for decades, come to Chester County to work in Pennsylvania’s $1.1 billion mushroom industry. He is a Venezuelan migrant who was granted Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, under the 2023 designation. TPS allows foreign nationals already in the U.S. to remain for six, 12, or 18 months — regardless of how they entered — if their home country is deemed too dangerous for them to return.
In February, President Donald Trump terminated TPS for Venezuelans who received protection under the 2023 expansion. According to the Department of Homeland Security, this designation had allowed approximately 348,000 Venezuelans to remain in the U.S. legally, with many eligible for work authorization. Meanwhile, Venezuelans who were granted TPS under the earlier 2021 designation can retain their status until Sept. 10, 2025. This provides temporary relief but leaves their long-term status uncertain.
The termination of TPS for many Venezuelans, along with Trump’s broader immigration policies — including stricter border enforcement, increased deportations, and tighter restrictions on work permits and asylum protections — will likely shrink the pool of available workers in Pennsylvania’s mushroom industry and other agricultural and food industries.
Changing face of the mushroom workforce
The mushroom industry in Pennsylvania has been shaped and sustained by major waves of U.S. immigration since the late 19th century.
William Swayne, a Quaker florist, is credited with beginning mushroom cultivation in Kennett Square, a small borough in Chester County, in the 1880s.
However, it was Italian immigrants, who began arriving in the early 20th century, who transformed Kennett Square, which bills itself as the “mushroom capital of the world.”
Today, Pennsylvania produces 69% of all mushrooms sold in America, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Chester County alone produced 199 million pounds of mushrooms — mostly white button mushrooms — in the 2023-24 season. While Chester County remains the hub of production, mushroom farms also extend into adjacent Berks County and parts of northeastern Maryland.
Yet, workforce instability remains a pressing issue, as the industry has struggled for decades to recruit and retain workers.
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