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Plucking at the tree of opportunity


Monday, September 05, 2005

By BOB KRETSCHMAN

The Daily Sentinel


When peaches and other fruit ripens in Grand Valley orchards, growers say they’ll hire just about anyone who will pick it.

Most of the workers they hire are migrants from Mexico and Central America.

Growers say migrant workers supply much-needed labor during the critical weeks each summer when fruit is ready for harvest, and many of those workers are hired through a system that doesn’t ensure whether they’re in the United States legally.

“The migrant workers we have, you take their documentation and you don’t ask any questions,� said grower Brant Harrison of Palisade.

“The feds tell us 80 percent of (the agricultural) workforce is illegal,� said Bruce Talbott of Talbott Farms on East Orchard Mesa.

Talbott said that when he hires a migrant worker, he needs to see two documents for that person â€â€