Politicians from major agricultural states are pressuring Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to stop launching farm audits, possibly a sign that Congress is coming closer to passing serious immigration reform.
For the past few years, politicians on both sides of the aisle have paid lip service to immigration reform. While always a perennial presidential election topic, there has, until recently, been little will in the House and Senate to pass new immigration laws.
Recent pressure from the farm sector, battered by shrinking labor pools, the aftermath of several states tough new immigration crackdowns, has resulted in serious movement on immigration legislation.
While Congress debates reforming immigration policy, however, immigration officials are continuing a series of crackdowns on undocumented workers across the country. In major agricultural states, particularly California, these crackdowns have been devastating to farmers already struggling to fill farm jobs.
“Many farmers and growers in California informed me that their business and livelihood are at risk due to a shortage of legal harvesters, pickers, pruners, packers and farm workers,” said California Senator Dianne Feinstein in a recent letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. “As you can imagine, with approximately 81,000 farms in California, I am very concerned that these audits will result in significant harm to the agricultural industry and the state’s overall economy.”
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer