Bleeding Heart Alert!

Crackdown folly
Mass deportation has heavy economic price

http://www.bradenton.com/opinion/story/130665.html

Grocery shopping is becoming an unsettling chore for many Americans. Milk is up to almost $4 a gallon. Bread and cereal are out of sight. Corn oil, cheese, ice cream, beef - all are taking a much bigger bite out of paychecks in recent months.

The reason: the rush to ethanol. That gas additive made from corn is commanding a bigger share of America's grain crop. Cattle raisers, cereal makers, bakeries and dairy processors are having to compete with fuel refiners for the commodities that play a role in America's food chain.

But if you think ethanol is boring a hole in your wallet, wait until the crackdown on illegal immigrants begins to hit the national workforce. Soaring food prices will be the inevitable consequence of deporting or scaring away the millions of illegal workers who toil in low-wage industries like agriculture, slaughterhouses and restaurant kitchens. You can also expect to pay much more for hotel rooms, bank services, lawyers and financial consultants when all the undocumented maids and office cleaners are taken off the payroll.

Public will is clear

America wants its immigration laws enforced. That was made clear in the debate over the failed immigration reform bill in the Senate this spring and summer. The majority told Congress they wanted the government to:

• Tighten security at the border to keep illegals from crossing.

• Check workers' documents and deport all who don't check out.

• Punish employers who continue to hire illegals.

• Force law enforcement officers to check immigration status of all suspects they arrest and turn over to immigration authorities any found to be here illegally.

• Fine landlords who rent homes or apartments to illegal immigrants.

Now, the federal government is beginning to oblige them. President Bush and the Department of Homeland Security this month launched a major crackdown on illegal immigrants built around enforcement of existing laws. It will force employers to check Social Security cards and driver's licenses against federal databases and fire any who don't match up. The penalty for employers who repeatedly violate this law is raised by 25 percent, to as high as $11,000 per employee. An additional 20,000 agents will be hired and trained by the Border Patrol. More detention facilities will be built. Local law enforcement officers will get training in processing illegal immigrants.

The crackdown is just getting under way, so its impact hasn't yet begun to ripple through the economy. But it will be noticed when employers begin to face labor shortages. There already are reports of crops rotting in the field in California because migrant workers there have been scared away. The same thing could happen in Manatee County tomato fields, citrus groves and horticulture farms, all heavily dependent on immigrants.

Not enough workers, period

Many of the dozens of readers who responded to our online Talkback site at Bradenton.com said fine, just raise the pay rate and watch legal Americans step up to fill those jobs. This crackdown will test the validity of that belief. Even if every jobless person did - a doubtful outcome - Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez says there would not be enough native workers to fill the gap left by deported illegals. The result could be growers and processors ceasing operations or perhaps moving them to countries where labor is cheap, just as factory owners have done.

Those who say employers should just pay workers more and take less profit don't realize just how slim the margin can be and how sensitive food prices are to foreign competition. Add a dollar or two to a flat of Manatee-grown tomatoes and they will sit in packing houses while brokers fill our stores with produce from Mexico or Peru.

Don't misunderstand: When the reform bill dies we supported the kind of enforcement DHS has now ordered. However, that support comes with the caveat that the Social Security database system works properly and that employers aren't punished for the frequent errors that occur. It also is hinged on the creation of a guest worker program that permits migrant workers to travel between seasonal U.S. jobs and their native homeland without being blocked at the border.

No question that illegal immigration is a huge problem in this country. Undocumented workers burden the health care system, schools and law enforcement agencies. But they are also frequent victims of crime and vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous landlords.

It is folly to demand deportation of every illegal worker without considering the economic consequences. Entire industries stand to be disrupted, with resulting layoffs, goods shortages and price hikes. An immigration reform plan that fails to acknowledge such reality is bad policy that will only make the situation worse while disrupting the lives of countless thousands of hard-working families.

Do you think out-of-work Americans will pick tomatoes for $10 or $12 an hour?