New York Times article & Steve Scaroni (CA/Mex Farmer) - Both a crock

http://fungazi.com/wordpress/?cat=2
Posted in Politics & Government, Illegal Aliens & Immigration Reforms on September 7th, 2007 by MorningStar

The New York Times article about Steve Scaroni, the frustrated California farmer that recently rented farming property in Mexico, was carried in numerous newspapers around the country. Its a story about a man who started farming as a teenager and built a $50 million dollar business growing lettuce and broccoli in California only to see his life’s endeavor threatened by the growing threat of immigration enforcement. The story tells how Mr. Scaroni reluctantly began to shift his operation to rented fields in Mexico where he now employs 500 Mexican citizens to tend his crops there and he doesn’t have to worry about them being deported. There is only one small problem with the story - it’s a crock.

Steve Scaroni is not unknown in California. He was an advocate for the agricultural industry long before he became Senator Dianne Feinstein’s AgJOBS poster boy. He was very active in the push for Worker’s compensation reform back in 2004 and he has actively been promoting more relaxed provisions to the guest worker program for years. His opinions have been expressed in newspapers and magazines and he appears to be willing to grant interviews to nearly anyone who will put his name in print. In April 2004, Governor Schwarzenegger re-appointed Steve Scaroni’s wife, Brenda Sue Scaroni to the Imperial County Fair Board.

The claim that Steve Scaroni is a California farmer who has been forced to move his business out of the country because of immigration concerns is extremely misleading and despite being quoted by The New York Times as saying, “I have no choice but to offshore my operation,â€