Thread: Stricter border controls mean shortages of labor locally

Stricter border controls mean shortages of labor locally (southern and western Cook County, Illinois)

(http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/5064 ... S1.article)

August 12, 2007

By Isaac Wolf Staff writer

Grab. Twist. Snap.

Rodrigo Moreno repeats these motions hundreds of times, plucking ears of sweet corn from a sea of green stalks.

While Moreno and three other laborers hack through the brush, farm owner Hank Jacobs drives behind them in a tractor that's holding the corn collection bin. Jacobs steadily advances the vehicle, setting the pickers' pace.

The faster Jacobs drives, the more quickly Moreno must pick.

The fields are a muddy quagmire from the previous night's rain, making it difficult to move, let alone keep balance.

Jacobs acknowledges this and drives slowly.

"I don't push them too hard," he says. "I'm not really a taskmaster."

For good reason. Feeling the pinch of a shortage in seasonal labor, Jacobs isn't in a position to overwork his hired hands.

Farmers in Illinois and across the nation are struggling to pick their crops, according to agricultural experts who believe the shortage stems from a national immigration policy that allows too few foreign workers -- the people willing to do back-breaking work -- into the United States.

"The labor shortage is getting more acute," said Chuck Spencer, director of National Legislation for the Illinois Farm Bureau.

Jacobs, who lives in Orland Park but travels to Kankakee daily to tend to his 135-acre vegetable farm, felt that labor shortage this spring. He normally hires four or five farmhands in May or June. This year, he couldn't land help until July.

That, in turn, kept him from properly hoeing and weeding before the corn-picking season began around the Fourth of July. The labor shortage also meant he couldn't plant crops at the historic Boley Farm on 151st Street in Orland Park, where he sells produce.

"The strongest way it affected me was mentally," Jacobs said. "What really gets to you is the stress."

The dearth of labor stems from stricter border enforcement efforts, spurred by the Sept. 11 attacks. Federal officials claim the number of border crossings has plunged.

National immigration policy might seem remote from the daily lives of most Southland residents, but Jacobs' farm operation illustrates why anyone who enjoys locally-picked produce has reason to care.

After the day's picking, the rain-soaked corn gathered by Moreno and the three other laborers -- all but one of whom are from Mexico -- will be sold in Orland Park.

By evening, the corn could be at your dinner table.

National policy

The labor shortage comes as Congress balked at an immigration bill President George Bush has been pushing.

Bush's immigration plan calls for an expansive temporary worker program. According to the White House press office, it also provides $4.4 billion for stronger border enforcement and opportunities for illegal immigrants, estimated at 12 million, to become legal residents.

Hoping to gain political support for his guest worker program, Bush said July 19 that, without immigration reform, the crunch on farmers and other business owners will only get worse.

"I can make you a prediction ... that pretty shortly people are going to be knocking on people's doors saying, 'Man we're running out of workers.' "

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials believe a boost in resources is making it trickier for Mexicans to cross illegally.

The number of border patrol agents has almost tripled, from 6,000 at the beginning of the decade to almost 18,000 agents, according to Brad Benson, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Meanwhile, the federal government is installing a so-called "virtual fence," which will use radar and video cameras to detect all creatures -- human and animal -- that cross the border.

National effect

In Michigan, short-handed farmers have seen asparagus crops rot in the ground. The labor shortage has been most acute in Texas and California, states closest to the border with Mexico.

Without a breakthrough on immigration policy, farms in those states could be out of business in the next year, according to Spencer.

"The places with really bad shortages will have to make crucial decisions this year," he said.

Nationwide, farmers stand to lose $9 billion worth of fruit and vegetable sales unless Congress allows more immigrant laborers, according to the American Farm Bureau.

Bob Stallman, president of the organization, said a growing labor shortage could lead to more the importation of more produce -- hurting U.S. farmers and making our food supply less safe.

Not all immigration experts see the issue as the farm lobby does.

Steve Camarota, director of research for the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, said farmers are using cheap immigrant labor as an economic crutch.

If a border crackdown is leading to a shortage of labor -- and he contends that it hasn't, based on long-term wage rates -- then the result actually would be good for U.S. farmers: They would be forced to adopt labor-saving technology.

Jacobs, however, said he feels the labor pinch -- and it has yet to fully hit Illinois.

August and September are the busy season for much of Illinois' produce, including tomatoes, bell peppers, melons and flowers.

"At the beginning of the season, I didn't get anybody showing up for work," Jacobs said. "I needed help."

Isaac Wolf may be reached at
iwolf@dailysouthtown.com
or (70 633-5973.

illustrates why anyone who enjoys locally-picked produce has reason to care.

I DONT CARE....AND MY PRODUCE IS LOCALLY PICKED. I PICK IT MYSELF FROM MY OWN GARDEN