Trump's immigration crackdown is hurting US farms with its unintended consequences

[yallerdawg]

Source: Business Insider, by Christopher Woody

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Trump's promises to crackdown on immigrants in the country illegally and ICE's stepped-up enforcement efforts since his election have sent chills through the US agriculture industry. Industry-wide, 16% of workers are undocumented, while undocumented immigrants make up 70% of all fieldworkers — the vast majority of them Mexican.

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"If we don't have the ability to have workers on our farms, farms can't survive," Farm Bureau spokesman Steve Ammerman told Crain's.

Farmers are "having such a difficult time" finding workers, he said, "because people are scared, they're nervous to be out in the open seeking employment."

"If we were to engage in massive deportations, our agricultural system would collapse," said Bruce Goldstein, president of the nonprofit Farmworker Justice, which works to improve living and working conditions on farms.

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Trump's aggressive stance on immigration is but one issue that has frayed US relations with Mexico.

Mexican politicians and activists seeking to rebuke Trump's actions toward the US's southern neighbor have targeted US corn exports to Mexico — worth $2.5 billion in 2015 — as an avenue through which to pressure the US president, raising the prospect that an industry dealing with labor shortages may soon have to grapple with declining sales as well.

Read it all at: http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-ice-immigration-crackdown-arresting-migrant-farmworkers-2017-3

[Squinch]

1. And how could those salt of the earth farmers ever have known that Trump was going to do this

when they voted for him after he said, "I'm going to do this?"

What a blindside!

[AgadorSparticus]

7. +1,000!!!

[milestogo]

2. It will kill dairy farms in Wisconsin

Working on a dairy farm is demanding physical work, and its hard to find anyone willing to do it.

[SHRED]

3. Because of the pay

People will do any job if it pays accordingly.

[yallerdawg]

5. Many of the jobs traditional to undocumented workers...

are outside of our Federal labor standards by law.

Americans won't do this work because it doesn't pay like - or have the benefits - our non-farm payroll jobs.

If we end immigrant labor in agriculture - we end American farming.

Read the "Grapes of Wrath" to understand when "people will do any job."

[Daninmo]

12. I don't understand

Why should we expect other people to work for these low wages and no benefits, our own citizens won't do it? Should we support the people taking advantage of the migrant workers?

[Girard442]

4. Experiencing pain personally is the only way Trump voters will ever change their minds.

How else do you get through to someone who has no empathy?

[Panich52]

6. Georgia economy went into meltdown few years ago

when they started rounding up migrant workers. Not only were there not enough citizens who wanted to harvest crops, those who tried were too inept to function.

[JTFrog]

8. Unintended by some who voted for him, but I believe Trump and Co want to burn it all down. nt

[erinlough]

9. My sister works in social services here in Michigan

They put out monthly letters announcing employment opportunities. For the first time there are three pages from local farms asking for workers to tie grapes, pickers and workers. She can't remember them ever being there before. We usually have a great big group of migrant workers the farmers used, they aren't coming this year.

[Generic Other]

10. Big Agra wants family farms to fail

They will invest in robot technology to harvest GMO laced food. No need to feed the masses anything healthy.

[NickB79]

11. I love posting these stories on Facebook for my family members to read

Big rural farm family here, and all my uncles and cousins voted for Trump.

They are none too pleased as of late.