http://www.newsregister.com/news/result ... _no=203457

Tempers flare at farmworker assistance forum
Published: January 26, 2006

By KATIE WILLSON
Of the News-Register


Nursery, vineyard and farm operators met Wednesday with the state's premier nonprofit farmworker housing developer to identify changes in the county's need for stable low-income housing options for agricultural employees.

But Oregon's premier anti-immigration advocate decided to join in, accusing the nonprofit, Community and Shelter Assistance Corporation, and local agricultural employers of "scheming" to lure "illegal aliens" to Oregon, paying them substandard wages then expecting taxpayers to foot the bill for social services and education for their families.

"Take that agenda somewhere else," one man suggested.

"I'll take it wherever I want," boomed Jim Ludwick, leader of Oregonians for Immigration Reform. He said he was "totally opposed and outraged" that agricultural employers bring low-wage, non-English-speaking workers who, he said, drain the system of money that should be spent on our senior citizens.

CASA's chairman, former Yamhill County Sheriff Lee Vasquez, stood up with a shaking voice and pointed finger.

"We're not trying to scheme anyone," he said. "If we can assist farm workers we're going to do that. Someone has to do something."

Ludwick held his tongue for nearly an hour after that.

CASA receives the majority of its funding from the federal government to build and renovate apartments and houses for farm workers and their families. Because of that, CASA cannot serve workers who are not documented to work in the United States.

But most employers said documentation isn't the primary factor keeping agricultural workers from taking advantage of nearby apartments and homes. They say it's just too expensive to live in Yamhill County.

Willakenzie Vineyard owner Ronnie Lacroute said her crew works year-round for $11-$13 per hour, plus benefits, such as paid vacation for themselves and health care for their families

"And they still can't afford to own homes in Yamhill County," she said. "They all live one hour away in Salem. It's a question of affordable housing. And they're clearly sending money home to aging parents, so you take a percentage of that pay that's not available to them."

That's where CASA comes in. Since its launch in 1988, the nonprofit has built or refurbished 938 apartments and houses in Oregon. While it restored some single-male labor camps, CASA increasingly focuses on family-style housing to meet demands as workers bring their families to live in Oregon and remain here to work year-round.

In Yamhill County, CASA has built three apartment complexes with a total of 78 units in McMinnville, Dayton and Lafayette. They are owned and managed by the local housing authority.

But the housing authority said the farmworker housing has the highest vacancy rate of any of their complexes.

"Demand for that kind of housing has gone down," he said. "It's an issue of eligibility for workers. But we cannot house people who are not documented. From our perspective, there's not a need for more subsidized housing."

Ludwick pounced.

"If there's enough housing for legal workers," he said, " there's really no need for CASA." He asked Mark Simmons, the state director for the United States Department of Agriculture, what he thought of "these people" trying to find ways for taxpayers to foot the bill for "illegal aliens."

"The U.S., like it or not, has recognized that people come to work," Simmons said. It isn't right to break federal laws by slipping undocumented into the United States, he told Ludwick, "but the fact is we're benefiting from it and we're relying on it."

Ludwick burst into laughter.

"We have made a commitment to improve out community," said John Aguirre, executive director of the Oregon Nursery Association. He said he agreed that immigration laws need an overhaul to accommodate the country's need for documented agricultural labor.

But for now, he said, undocumented workers are here, and they're needed.

"It doesn't improve our community to keep them in substandard housing," he said. "We need to give kids the opportunity to earn an education and to live in safe neighborhoods."