Thread: {SOB} CA: No Match letters could Affect Ag Industy

Crack Down On Immigration Could Affect Ag Industry
Gov. Sends Out No Match Letters
By Mark Matthews

SALINAS, Calif., Aug. 30, 2007 (KGO) - A coalition of labor groups is suing to stop the government from implementing tough new rules on employers of undocumented workers. The Department of Homeland Security is planning to go after companies that routinely hire people who've entered the country illegally.

The farm industry, construction workers, hotels and restaurants. All are going to be hit with tough new employment rules, and we will now look at the farmers in Monterey county.

The United Farm Workers Union figures three-quarters of the field hands in California are in the country illegally.

In Monterey County the local farm bureau thinks two-thirds are undocumented.

"We know we've got workers here who don't have eligibility to work and we now have a situation where we're going to have to deal with that," Bob Perkins from the Monterey County Farm Bureau said.

The situation is this: the government is sending out letters to employers identifying workers whose names and social security numbers do not match their records.

These so-called no match letters have been sent out to employers for the past ten years; what's new are the penalties.

"It's got teeth that's about what I would say it's got teeth," immigration attorney Joanne Haag said.

Immigration lawyer Joanne Haag is warning growers and farm labor contractors that once they've been notified, they've got 90 days to resolve the mismatch, fire the employee or risk fines up to $11,000 dollars per worker.

"So you're talking big bucks," Haag said.

And for renewed offenders, a threat of criminal penalties and jail.

"I don't know whether we're going to be able have our business, to keep our business going if we don't have employees able to harvest for us you know," Farm labor contractor Yolanda Velazco said.

Yolanda Velazco's company supplies nearly 400 farm laborers to Salinas Valley growers each week. She fears she'll be forced to fire more than half her employees.

"We need people to work," Velazco said.

"At the extreme limits of what we think could happen it could devastate our agricultural industry," Perkins said.

The executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau says thousands of workers could be laid off.

"We could see a serious labor shortage that could cripple our ability to harvest and provide the food that people want," Perkins said.

To say nothing of what it could mean to the economy of Salinas and Monterey County, should two thirds of farm laborers disappear.

"Since agriculture is a $3.5 billion dollar business and it's the biggest part of our county's economy what ever happens to agriculture happens to all of us," Perkins said.

Politics is behind this. The immigration reform bill failed in part because republicans weren't able to make the case that before we add new laws, we should enforce the existing ones. The Department of Homeland Security is out to show that it can do that, and that there is no match regulations that are due to go out into effect in a couple of weeks.

Copyright 2007, ABC7/KGO-TV/DT.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?secti ... id=5621254

"We need people to work," Velazco said.

BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH!

What a load of crap. What's next, are you greedy AG'ers going to try and sell us ocean front property in AZ?

X-Cons need work. People with disabilities need work. People at the unemployment office need work.

Beep off Agra-Giants. You choaked out the small farmers and pushed them out of their family homes and they didn't whine about cheap labor!!!! Beep Off!

Dixie