Thread: New regs for IAs could deprive ag industry of workers

New regulations for illegal immigrants could deprive ag industry of workers
By Shannon Dininny | ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Story last updated at 7/20/2008 - 2:07 am

GLEED, Wash. - Some states are balking at a federal effort to require them to screen potential farm hands for immigration violations before referring them to jobs, another conflict in the long-running dispute over the states' role in immigration enforcement.

Most resent a new rule that didn't come with money to pay for the extra work. Some complain they can't work with the federal verification system. Still others argue that the requirement illegally targets a certain class of workers.

Everyone's unspoken concern: That weeding out illegal workers could leave crops to rot in the fields.

Farm worker advocates support states' refusal to crack down, fearing legal U.S. workers could be denied employment in the process. Agriculture groups, some of whom sought the change, say farmers and food packers shouldn't bear the brunt of the task.

"I just wish they could work something out so that we're not all caught in the middle," said Mike Stephens, owner of MacKenzie Farms, an aspen nursery east of Washington's Cascade range.

Some 1 million people labor in U.S. fields, an estimated 70 percent of them in the country illegally. Their farm employers assume responsibility for screening workers' immigration documents and submitting an I-9 form to the federal government. Often, though, any problems with their documents are discovered after the harvest, long after workers have moved on to new jobs.

No one gets fined or arrested, and the crops come in on time.

But a rising federal crackdown on immigration violations is leading to worker shortages nationwide. Farmers say they fear hefty fines for employing illegal workers, and more are turning to a federal guest-worker program despite long-standing complaints that it's too cumbersome.

The H-2A program allows farmers to recruit workers from foreign countries if they can prove a shortage of legal, local workers exists. Similar programs exist for the hospitality and high-tech industries who struggle to find workers.

The role of state work force offices is to advertise jobs locally and refer workers to the employers, in order to prove whether a worker shortage exists.

At the request of some farm groups, the department notified state work force agencies in November that they must verify local farm workers' documents before referring them to the fields for work. The reminder was sent only in the form of a "guidance letter," but Labor Department officials say they expect states to comply, either by submitting an I-9 form themselves or by confirming immigration status with a federal computer system known as e-verify.

Some states immediately recoiled from the proposal, citing their shrinking budgets, burgeoning workloads and the potential for discrimination lawsuits.

"U.S. farm workers seeking H-2A jobs, especially Latino workers as a class, would face greater burdens to obtain these jobs than any other workers," Dolores Esser, commissioner of Virginia's Employment Commission, wrote to the Labor Department.

Initially, the Labor Department only singled out potential farm employees for the extra scrutiny. The department proposed similar requirements for non-agricultural, generally seasonal workers, in May.
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/072008 ... 6761.shtml

Farmers need to stop waiting for the government to bail them out and change the way they operate. Start paying decent wages and you won't have to look for foreign labor! LOTS of Americans are out of work due to the economy and illegal immigration. Be Americans and put Americans to work! Pay a damned decent wage!