Thread: Farmers object to feds' hiring crackdown

Farmers object to feds' hiring crackdown
Plan to go after businesses that use illegal workers will cripple state's agriculture, they say.
By Robert Rodriguez / The Fresno Bee
08/11/07 04:31:57


Farmers say a crackdown on hiring of illegal workers announced Friday by the Bush administration will cripple California agriculture.

The state's $32 billion industry relies heavily on immigrant workers, many of whom are in the country illegally.

"This isn't going to work. It is going to put people out of business," said Guillermo Zamora, a Fresno County farm labor contractor who hires about 200 workers a year to harvest crops.

Under new rules announced by the Department of Homeland Security on Friday, employers will have 90 days to prove their workers are legal residents.

If they miss the deadline, they must terminate the employee. They could be fined up to $10,000 per worker for failing to follow the rules. Construction, janitorial and landscaping companies and hotels and restaurants also rely on illegal workers.

The new rules take effect in 30 days.

"We are concerned that the new regulations will result in employers in numerous industries having to let workers go as the economy is facing an increasingly tight labor market," John Gay of the National Restaurant Association told The Associated Press.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said they were forced to beef up enforcement of existing laws after Congress failed to pass a comprehensive immigration-reform bill.

Angry agriculture industry officials, including Manual Cunha Jr., a citrus grower who heads the Nisei Farmers League in Fresno, participated in a conference call with Chertoff on Friday morning.

Federal officials "have failed to deal with the reality of the issue," Cunha said. "In a few months, everything is going to come to a screeching halt.

"It'll just be over if they start coming in here and busting employers. The food chain would fall apart."

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keenher said the federal government has always had rules barring employment of illegal immigrants, although not everyone follows them.

"We are reminding employers that they have no more excuses," she said. "And for those who continue to flagrantly ignore the law, there will be serious consequences."

Keenher said employers are being urged to use the federal government's Employment Eligibility Verification System, which she said provides nearly instantaneous verification of citizenship by tapping into Social Security databases.

Zamora said he does the best job he can to make sure his workers are legal, but that he also faces the added pressure of finding workers rapidly to pick perishable crops.

"We have been short of labor the past three years, and that has been one of our biggest problems," Zamora said. "In farm labor, we go through new employees every week. They are constantly moving.

"If I had to have someone in the office checking each one of the 200 people we use, we would not get anything done."

Cunha said even legal residents can be rejected by the federal system because of simple mistakes.

For example, a worker may get his or her number using a middle initial, then not use that middle initial when filling out an employer's paperwork. Or the worker may change a name when marrying.

The farmers league and the United Farm Workers union agree on a different approach to dealing with illegal workers.

The two organizations support stalled legislation that would grant "guest-worker" visas to illegal immigrants who have worked in agriculture for several years and who continue to do so for three or more years. In time, the immigrants could convert their special visas to permanent U.S. legal residency and, eventually, citizenship.

Union spokeswoman Alisha Rosas said the planned crackdown is ill-conceived.

"How many different ways has the government tried immigration reform, including community raids, and it doesn't work?" Rosas asked. "This is just another quick fix to a much bigger problem."

California Farm Labor Federation spokesman Dave Kranz, whose group represents the agriculture industry, agreed.

"Farmers and ranchers want to know that the people they hire are legally available to work," Kranz said. "And it is in everyone's best interest to have an immigration law in place that assures there are enough legal workers to harvest the fruit grown in California."

Along with cracking down on employers, the Bush administration's plans to beef up enforcement also include:

Preventing illegal immigrants who have agreed to leave the country from remaining in the country through legal maneuvers by making them subject to deportation if arrested and fining them $3,000.

Spending more money to speed up background checks on immigrants.

Requiring the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security to devise a way to prevent undocumented workers from earning credit in the Social Security system for work they've done while in the country illegally.

Expanding lists of organized gangs from other nations whose members are barred from automatic entry to the United States.

By Jan. 31, 2008, beginning to phase in requirements for U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean to carry passports to re-enter the country at sea and land ports.
The Associated Press and Bee staff writer Dennis Pollock contributed to this report. The reporter can be reached at brodriguez@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6327.

http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/109803.html

This country needs to get busy and mechanize its agriculture. Pronto! Other countries are way ahead of us in this. A few weeks ago I posted some articles about what others are doing.

To not mechanize puts US farmers at a comeptitive disadvantage.

I can understand the plight of US senators who believe that without significant inputs of human labor US agriculture cannot succeed. If an industry does go under you know who will get the lion's share of the blame. They may be misled in their thinking that machines can not be implemented fast enouigh, and in some caases they might be right. But it is up to us to carefully prove the case that automation can succeed AND make US farmers profitable in the face of foreign competition.

For example, a worker may get his or her number using a middle initial, then not use that middle initial when filling out an employer's paperwork

That is a lie! I have used my first name at times and other times my middle name and still others my first, last and middle....all combinations, depending on how the application is written!

"This isn't going to work. It is going to put people out of business," said Guillermo Zamora, a Fresno County farm labor contractor who hires about 200 workers a year to harvest crops.

What does Zamora say to the business that is trying to operate lawfully and hire only legal citizens? Zamora is putting him out of business because he cannot compete with a business that hires illegals. The unspoken ultimatum to the lawful business is ‘you must break the law or go bankrupt.’

……………And this farce has been brought to you by your United States Government.

There is over 200 comments on a similar article to this one in the Sun-Sentinel and someone posted this article on robots replacing migrants. This is very interesting and check out the pictures.

http://www.wired.com/science/discoverie ... obo_picker

I think we can wait a few days on the robots.
For now I would bet the farm that enough Americans can fill the jobs. Lets See, 30 days to get it right., “Americaâ€

WHY DO THEY NEED 90 DAYS TO STRAIGHTEN OUT A MISMATCH? THAT SEEMS LIKE A LONG TIME TO ME. THEY SHOULD GET TWO WEEKS. ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS GO TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICE WITH THEIR DOCUMENTS THAT THEY ORIGINALLY USED TO GET THEIR SS NUMBER IN THE FIRST PLACE. IT DOESNT TAKE 90 DAYS TO GET A SS NUMBER, SO WHY SHOULD IT TAKE THAT LONG TO STRAIGHTEN OUT A MISTAKE?

Originally Posted by redpony353

WHY DO THEY NEED 90 DAYS TO STRAIGHTEN OUT A MISMATCH? THAT SEEMS LIKE A LONG TIME TO ME. THEY SHOULD GET TWO WEEKS. ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS GO TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICE WITH THEIR DOCUMENTS THAT THEY ORIGINALLY USED TO GET THEIR SS NUMBER IN THE FIRST PLACE. IT DOESNT TAKE 90 DAYS TO GET A SS NUMBER, SO WHY SHOULD IT TAKE THAT LONG TO STRAIGHTEN OUT A MISTAKE?

Yeah, I have noticed that when I am getting laid off from a union job it takes them about fifteen minutes.

It’s like saying my kids where hungry, I robbed the bank, I go free, ok...

Good analogy. How does anyone know which laws should be taken seriously?

Send them back is the outcry in South Florida for many at this time. A Broward County Sheriff's Deputy was gunned down during a traffic stop on monday morning. He is in critical condition as he was shot on the right side of his head. As I have posted before the man arrested has an immigration hold. He came here when he was 2 with his mom and after doing some high school he worked as a day laborer. In November of last year a deputy from the same department was shot and killed and 2 passengers in the shooters vehicle were illegals. Now once again on Friday morning the sheriff's office lost an 18 year veteran. He was ambushed in a parking lot at behind Walgreen's in Pompano Beach. Many people once again wonder if one or both people in the car the deputy approached were illegals too.