Thread: It’s like deja vu all over again in Texas

It’s like deja vu all over again in Texas
thepacker.com
Opinion
08/26/2011 9:26:34 AM
Chris Koger

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas — At the recent Texas Produce Convention, it seemed like food safety crept into just about every conversation, and the event’s agenda was stacked with speakers to address those concerns.

But labor and immigration isn’t far too far down the list when it comes to issues with which Texas citrus and vegetable growers have to contend.

One session at the Aug. 11-13 convention, regarding immigration and E-Verify mandates, triggered my memory and took me back to San Antonio, where the Texas produce industry convened for its convention five years ago.

Deep into George W. Bush’s second term, there was strong discontent among the Rio Grande Valley’s citrus and vegetable grower base.

Those growers, whose allegiance fell heavily on the Republican side, stood by as (Democrat-led) Congress quickly dropped immigration reform leading into the 2008 presidential race.

Even then, growers — not just of produce but all crops depending on a labor workforce — had been waiting for years for a resolution to the millions of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. and working in agriculture, construction, hospitality and other industries.

When Bush entered the White House, his campaign promise to work on the immigration issue was still fresh in growers’ minds.

His friendly relationship with then-Mexican president Vicente Fox only made the prospects of reform brighter.

Circumstances changed, of course, especially after 9/11.

Border security and the unease of undocumented people in the U.S. was a common theme whenever elected officials spoke in front of constituents.

At the San Antonio convention in August 2005, Texas Produce Association president John McClung described some GOP leaders as “dead-end ideologuesâ€

Add a spate of state laws that take a hard line on illegal immigrants, and it’s possible that the H-2A program will become the only option, despite higher wage mandates and more paperwork.

Whoop, there it is!

The GOP Sponsors The Mexican Invasion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77JvpID0 ... ded#at=152

(make sure you rewind this to the start, it has a tendency to begin in the middle)