Texas Business Groups Implore: Don't Crack Down on Illegal Immigrants

Warn that fruit and vegetable producers could leave the country if work force blocked
By Jim Forsyth
Wednesday, January 5, 2011

As the new Congress begins its session, and the Texas Legislature is about to be gaveled into session, Texas business groups are appealing to state and federal representatives not to crack down on illegal immigration, 1200 WOAI news reports.

"These folks don't realize just how difficult it is to fill these jobs with the domestic workers," Ray Prewitt, the President of the Texas Citrus Mutual, which represents fruit growers, and the Executive Vice President of the Texas Vegetable Association, which represents vegetable growers, told 1200 WOAI news.

Prewitt says even in the midst of a deep recession, it is impossible for citrus and vegetable growers to find legal and documented workers to harvest the crops. He candidly estimated that 70% of Texas citrus and vegetable workers are undocumented.

"I think there is an awful lot of misconceptions that, gee, agriculture is not paying a high enough wage, and if they just paid a little bit more, they could get the workers," Prewitt said. "That is just not the case at all."

Several Republicans in the Texas legislature has vowed to push measures which would clamp down on the border and would take steps to push undocumented people out of Texas. Some would deny benefits to illegals, one would label receipt of government benefits as 'employment,' which would require anybody receiving Aid to Dependent Children, food stamps, and other state welfare programs to show a federal I-9 form, which is required of everybody who is employed in the United States.

Prewitt says any 'enforcement only' measure would include special provisions for vital agriculture workers to remain in the country.

"The enforcement only thing will do great damage to the produce industry in Texas, and in the Rio Grande Valley," Prewitt said.

Prewitt warned that if illegal immigration is stopped, growers who currently produce fruit and vegetables in the U.S. may very well decide to go where the workers are, and move their operations to Mexico. He says that would be devastating for the Texas and the U.S. economies, and from a national security standpoint, would make the U.S. dependant on foreign countries for our food, much like we are currently dependant for our oil.

"Those workers are going to harvest our fruits and vegetables," Prewitt said. "The only question is...are they going to harvest them here, or are they going to harvest them in Mexico."


http://radio.woai.com/cc-common/news/se ... le=8003484

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