http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=49571

Moratorium on Mexican worker visas could clobber agriculture
Tribune Editorial
October 2, 2005
Immigration hardliners are cheering U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., for his tough border-security bill. But a lot of other good Americans, farmers among them, are warning that the measure would cripple agriculture and drive up food prices.

The measure, introduced on Thursday, contains some laudable provisions, including more Border Patrol agents and border surveillance equipment, assistance for local law police agencies to help with immigration enforcement, stiffer penalties for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, and a mandate to create a tamper-proof Social Security card.

But Hayworth's proposed three-year moratorium on work visas for Mexicans is both unnecessary and potentially destructive to the economy.

As the Tribune's Le Templar reported on Friday, farmers from the Yuma area have been complaining to Congress that border security measures already in place are hampering their ability to get farm workers. Legal workers from Mexico now routinely have to wait hours at the border before being admitted, and many are giving up because it's too much of a hassle.

Yuma's agriculture leaders have warned that unless they are able to get the 10,000 seasonal workers they need to harvest winter vegetables around Thanksgiving, many of the crops will be left to rot in the fields. Since most of the nation's winter produce comes from that region, food prices could soon follow gasoline prices through the roof.

It is essential that comprehensive immigration reform include a guest worker program that allows agriculture and other industries to get the seasonal and entry-level workers they need. It also must contain a mechanism by which workers currently in this country illegally can obtain legal status. Such provisions â€â€