Trump allows more foreign ag workers, eases off ICE raids on farms

By Tim Henderson Stateline org In a tacit admission that U S food production requires foreign labor the Trump administration is making it easier for farmers to employ guest workers from other countries Related Articles Trump administration plans to review refugees admitted under Biden memo obtained by The AP says White House circulates a plan to extend Obamacare subsidies as Trump pledges healthcare care fix Trump administration plan to reduce access to various attendee loans angers nurses fitness care groups Lawmakers question legality of Perimeter Patrol license plate reader initiative Judge dismisses Comey James indictments after finding that prosecutor was illegally appointed At the same time U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement in latest months appears to be refraining from conducting agricultural workplace raids even as it scours Democratic-led cities for immigrants who are in the country illegally We really haven t seen agriculture targeted with worksite enforcement efforts and early this year we did noted Julia Gelatt associate director of U S immigration strategy at the Migration Approach Institute a nonpartisan think tank The shifts come as a great number of Americans are concerned about the rising cost of food creating political problems for a president who campaigned on lowering them This month the administration also released it would lift tariffs on several foreign food products including bananas beef coffee and tomatoes To ease labor shortages on farms and ranches the administration last month made changes to the federal H- A visa project which allows employers to hire foreign workers for temporary agricultural jobs when there aren t enough U S -born workers available Under the new rule the Department of Homeland Guard will approve H- A visas more speedily Our immigration system has been broken for decades and we eventually have a President who is enforcing the law and prioritizing fixing programs farmers and ranchers rely on to produce the safest and greater part productive food supply in the world the U S Department of Agriculture declared in an email to Stateline But the move to increase the supply of foreign agricultural workers conflicts with a July comment by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins that the promise to America to ensure that we have a American workforce stands Rollins also commented the administration was committed to the mass deportation of immigrants who are here illegally but that it would be strategic so as not to compromise our food supply Ultimately she announced the cure would be increased automation of agricultural jobs The governing body has issued about H- A visas for agricultural workers every year since which amounts to about half of the agricultural worker jobs They are concentrated in states that grow fruits and vegetables as opposed to grains which are increasingly planted and harvested using machines The leadership expects an additional visas to be issued under the new rule Almost half the H- A visas in the fiscal year were in Florida Georgia California Washington state and North Carolina Lower wages The new H- A rule also includes new hourly wage guidelines that vary by state but are lower than previous wages and allows employers to charge workers for housing that used to be free In North Carolina for instance the new rate is for unskilled workers compared with last year In California the rate is for unskilled workers compared with last year though minimum wage laws in California and selected other states would apply to those jobs according to a Cornell University analysis In North Carolina farmers are looking forward to lower labor costs commented Lee Wicker deputy director of the North Carolina Growers Association a agreement association that brought guest workers to the state through the H- A guest worker effort last year If you think farmers are making more money in these conditions you re wrong They re going broke Wicker announced Workers will take a pay cut under new guidelines and will have to pay for housing but that may help farmers stave off bankruptcy he reported I m not saying the workers are going to be happy about this but I think they ll come back Wages have gone down before and they kept coming he added Jeffrey Dorfman an agricultural and supply economics professor at North Carolina State University reported the changes will be a boon to the state s farmers The move to lower the H- A wages by the Trump administration will be very well received by growers in North Carolina and will save farmers tens of millions of dollars statewide Dorfman reported For various farmers it will turn money-losing crops into money-making crops if prices stay about where they are now Unionized California farmworkers are opposed to the pay cuts and loss of free housing in the new guest worker visa plan disclosed Antonio De Loera-Brust a spokesperson for the United Farm Workers which represents about workers in California The union sued the administration over ICE raids in the fields earlier this year but in recent weeks it s been pretty quiet he disclosed For us it s been really a one-two punch De Loera-Brust commented First came the raids which hurt workers and now in order to appease business interests they make all these concessions on wages and the guest workers initiative Fewer raids The administration promptly walked back a June directive to avoid raids on the agriculture and hospitality industries Nevertheless ICE raids on those employers have been more infrequent in the months since In June ICE raided a dairy farm in New Mexico and a meatpacking plant in Nebraska Since then the agency has raided only a handful of food and agriculture employers such as a July raid on a California marijuana grower and an Arizona restaurant chain and a September raid to arrest Wisconsin dairy workers Earlier this month ICE agents descended on an onion farm in Northern California arresting four immigrants on charges of illegally selling farmworker visas Even as ICE ramps up its activity in North Carolina cities such as Charlotte and Raleigh Wicker of the growers commerce group explained farms in the state have not been targeted Gelatt of the Migration Guidelines Institute noted that s been true of farms and ranches in numerous states since June In past administrations we ve seen a very quiet de-emphasis of immigration enforcement at farms You don t need to make an announcement You don t need to fight in the courts Gelatt disclosed It is workable just to direct enforcement initiatives away from farms It ll be hard to know if that s happened now but I would not be surprised While farmworkers in California are seeing selected relief from raids life is still uneasy for them De Loera-Brust mentioned Overall they have clearly slowed down raids in ag areas but that s not approach They could resume at any time People are living with uncertainty he revealed Stateline reporter Tim Henderson can be reached at thenderson stateline org States 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