Thread: Farmers: Immigration laws cause poor harvest

Farmers: Immigration laws cause poor harvest

Posted: Oct 04, 2011 8:33 PM EDT Updated: Oct 04, 2011 8:33 PM EDT

Farmers went before Congress tuesday, pleading for protection from new state immigration laws that they say are scaring off migrant workers who should be harvesting crops for them right now.

The impasse over federal immigration reform was summed up when Senator John Cornyn of Texas explained why 18 states are adopting their own immigration laws.

"The states are acting because they look at Washington and see inaction," Cornyn said.

Some farmers are now saying those new, tougher state laws are scaring away migrant workers they need to do the work most Americans won't do.


"Interested Americans only wanted air conditioned positions and refused to work outside," said Georgia farmer Connie Horner.

Horner is one of hundreds of Georgia farmers whose crops rotted in the field because the mostly illegal workforce was scared off by the state's new immigration law.

"I need legal, experienced season workers to maintain my farm and harvest food that helps feed Americans. I want to hire legal workers," she said.

Horner and others in agriculture said if farm labor isn't imported there is only one alternative.

"With less domestic production, more food will have to be imported," said the Western Growers Association's Tom Nassif.

There was positive response to a proposal of a fix that Senator Dianne Feinstein of California says offers neither amnesty nor citizenship for illegal immigrant farm workers, but a way to get legal.

"What it will provide is a 'Blue Card' to an agricultural worker who has met certain criteria to be able to remain in the country with his family," Feinstein explained.

She plans to introduce the legislation next week.

It would expire in five years to give Congress more time for broader immigration reform.

A study released Tuesday shows Georgia's economy is projected to shrink by nearly $400 million and the state could lose $3,200 jobs as a result of farm labor shortages this year.

Video at site
http://www.nbc-2.com/story/15618121/201 ... or-harvest

Related Thread
Ag commissioner: Ga. farmers need migrant labor
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-251831-far ... mmigration

There are numerous LEGAL programs that these farmers can take advantage of. They don't either because they're lazy or because they want taxpayer subsidized labor.

I had read a previous story that said the Geogia governor was recruiting prison labor to work the fields. And since many prisoners are illegals who had previosly harvest crops, isn't this the way to go, and not just in Georgia but everywhere!!??

Farms are subsidized, for the most part now days, anyway, and there is no excuse for them not paying/having to pay actual living wages to their workers. Period.

It's not that American's won't do these jobs, it's that American's can't afford to do these jobs and live at the minimum accepted standards of the nation. American's stand by the standards that allow one family per home, that allow minimal to no welfare assistance, that have job safety requirements, worker's rights. Americans have the right to insist on these things from employers, and those farms that hire seasonal help are employers based on the simple word "hire."

We have enough problems in the US right now due to the plutocracy and oligarchy, due to the ravaging of the average American citizen by banks and corporate entities. The weight of the millstone placed around the American neck by the use and abuse of illegal immigration and it's illegal aliens is unacceptable, intolerable, and succinctly not only UN-American, but ANTI-American.

My signature sums up my feelings quite succinctly on the matter:

"What it will provide is a 'Blue Card' to an agricultural worker who has met certain criteria to be able to remain in the country with his family," Feinstein explained.

She plans to introduce the legislation next week.

It would expire in five years to give Congress more time for broader immigration reform.

I don't have a problem with TEMP legal workers, but NO WAY should they be able to bring in their families and start dropping anchor after anchor!! I am also against anyone who has been or is in this country illegally, getting these temp cards. Temp visas should be given ONLY to foreign workers in their OWN countries, giving them permission to enter the US temporarily and alone. Should they have kids here, NO birthright citizenship! NO 5 years either!

WE the people will NOT stand for any "pathways" to legalization, amnesties, free passes, whatever these morons want to call it, of illegal aliens!

There is only ONE solution to illegal immigration and that is DEPORTATION!!!

The farmers can just cry me a river. They overplanted based on their cost projections using illegal labor. Every one of the famers that admits to using illegals should be audited for tax fraud back as far as they can go.

Is it possible, they are trying to build a case in order to have their crop insurance pay them for their losses?

Immigration laws did not cause the "poor harvest"; the past practice of the violation of the law created the "poor harvest" instead of hiring LEGAL workers. Sorry, you based your business success on targeting ILLEGALS as your cheap ILLEGAL labor. Again sorry, your business is based on cheap ILLEGAL labor from ILLEGALS subsidized by the United States Citizen Taxpayers furnishing benefits for the ILLEGAL EMPLOYER'S ILLEGALS while increasing the "bottom line" of the ILLEImmigration GAL EMPLOYERS. The Pro-ILLEGAL comments from the farmers represent the ILLEGAL EMPLOYERS who benefit financially from their ILLEGALS at the expense of Citizen Taxpayers via our Education, Health Care not to mention the invasion of the ILLEGALS and the various crimes, murder, rape, and drugs that come with becoming a Third World Country

This is to all the Farrmer's don't hand this to me about American
don't want the jobs that all BS we will work for the right pay
we don't work cheap. the gov don't work cheap
we will pick so don't hand us that BS
the right pay why the farmer's are the one that make out On the
deal
I know I work on the farmer's
No amnesty