The new investigative podcast series “Head Down'' explores labor trafficking happening within the U.S. government sponsored H2A visa program. It is sold as a “mutually beneficial” immigration program that allows migrant workers to come to the U.S. as temporary agricultural workers, but a close look into the program reveals a great disparity between how the program is described and what actually happens. 

A recent investigation by Prism, LatinoUSA, and Futuro Investigates found that this program is rife with exploitation and abuse. The two part podcast follows the journey of Mexican farmworkers who soon after arriving in North Carolina with H-2A visas found themselves in a nightmare they were forced to escape.

We speak with one of the podcast cohosts, editor-at-large of Prism News, Tina Vasquez. And while we’re on the topic of North Carolina, we also speak with Tina about the state’s recent move to ban abortion after 12 weeks.

Listen to "Head Down":

Head Down: Part I; Head Down: Part II