Trump reassures farmers immigration crackdown not aimed at their workers

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

BUSINESS NEWS | Mon May 15, 2017 | 10:00am EDT

Trump reassures farmers immigration crackdown not aimed at their workers

By Mica Rosenberg and Kristina Cooke | WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO

President Donald Trump said he would seek to keep his tough immigration enforcement policies from harming the U.S. farm industry and its largely immigrant workforce, according to farmers and officials who met with him.

At a roundtable on farm labor at the White House last month, Trump said he did not want to create labor problems for farmers and would look into improving a program that brings in temporary agricultural workers on legal visas.

"He assured us we would have plenty of access to workers," said Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, one of 14 participants at the April 25 meeting with Trump and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.

During the roundtable conversation about agriculture, farmers and representatives of the sector brought up labor and immigration, the details of which have not been previously reported. Some farmers told Trump they often cannot find Americans willing to do the difficult farm jobs, according to interviews with nine of the 14 participants.

They said they were worried about stricter immigration enforcement and described frustrations with the H-2A visa program, the one legal way to bring in temporary seasonal agricultural workers.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-farmers-trump-idUSKCN18B1BB

[elleng]

1. 'would seek to keep his tough immigration enforcement policies from harming'

Good luck with that!

[bettyellen]

2. Selective enforcement as a kind of pork for farmers? They get subsisdies and exemptions to exploit

Immigrant labor. Wow.

[unblock]

3. nah, why would we enforce these laws against the ones bringing drugs, bringing crimes, rapists?

oh i guess the ones who work on farms are the "some, i assume, are good people"....

nothing like a little republicans hypocrisy. gotta have and enforce tough immigration laws ruthlessly, unless it inconveniences my constituents and donors....

[RKP5637]

4. Yep, equality, way to go Bozo! n/t

[Freethinker65]

5. Those that work at Trump properties/resorts will be overlooked

Those that work elsewhere? Easy targets to get those all important deportation numbers up.

Zippy, there is plenty of "access to workers", just as there will be "access" to healthcare. You voted Republican, so certainly you can afford the price of the access. You could not possibly be a "taker". Hahahaha.

Problem is, for the rest of us, crops will rot and prices will go up. Thanks a lot for that Zippy.