Thread: Immigration Crackdown Hurts California Farmers

Immigration Crackdown May Hurt Calif. Farmers
2007-10-09 09:25am

Farmers in northern California say food may rot in the fields because they won't have enough workers to pick it now that the federal government has cracked down on illegal immigration.

An NBC affiliate in San Jose reported that the Bush administration is aware that many farmers could lose millions of dollars in revenue because of the problem, so it has loosened rules for issuing temporary work visas.

However, some farmers in the area say the measure may have come too late.

President Bush has laid the blame on Congress for failing to pass immigration reform that would allow more temporary workers into the U.S.

Congress, especially Republicans, have said the president's "guest worker" program amounted to nothing more than amnesty for millions of mostly Hispanic workers who entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico.

In the meantime, the administration has tried to speed up the temporary visa process to allow more workers in, but, say farmers, the application procedure still takes up to three months - too long to get a harvest in before it spoils in the fields.

Farmers are predicting that the impending loss of crops will eventually hurt consumers who will wind up paying more for food at the supermarket.

http://www.newsroomamerica.com/usa/story.php?id=395022

WHO CARES!!! You should see the cars, houses, and AIRPLANES these guys have!!

Another "crops rotting in the field" sob story. I remember reading after this summer's amnesty debate that the Bush administration (in their opinion) was peeved at business for not pushing for amnesty hard enough. So they (the Bush admin.) believed if they had a little crackdown this would motivate business to push harder for amnesty. These AG press release/sob stories are an example of this.

But we are NOT fooled. There is no agricultural crisis that necessitates a huge amnesty, and if the price of certain foods goes up a little -- so be it. These ag businesses need to wean themselves off of cheap, illegal labor. Giving amnesty would only make the problem worse.

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Call the Senate: NO AgJOBS Amnesty !