The debate over immigration is always high, but in the last few months, the debate has increased as Arizona has passed what some consider draconian efforts to curb what they see as a problem with illegal immigration.
From our perspective, such efforts are misplaced but born from frustration of the lack of a national immigration policy that addresses a key issue – how to allow people who wish to work in this country to do so in an efficient and reasonable manner.
‘Missing from the debate on both issues is an honest recognition that the food we all eat – at home, in restaurants and workplace cafeterias (including those in the Capitol) – comes to us from the labor of undocumented farm workers,” the UFW website, takourjobs.org says.
According to their statistics, agriculture in the United States is dependent on an immigrant workforce. Three-quarters of all crop workers working in American agriculture were born outside the United States. They cite government statistics which show that since the late 1990s, at least 50% of the crop workers have not been authorized to work legally in the United States.
There is widespread belief, at least in some circles, that the presence of undocumented workers is taking jobs that would normally go to Americans, and giving them to immigrants. Moreover, there is also the belief that due to the high presence of immigrants in farm work, that wages have been artificially suppressed.
In a tongue-in-cheek call for immigration reform, farm workers are teaming up with comedian Stephen Colbert to challenge unemployed Americans: Come on, take our jobs.
“Farm workers are tired of being blamed by politicians and anti-immigrant activists for taking work that should go to Americans and dragging down the economy,” said Arturo Rodriguez, the president of the United Farm Workers of America.
So, the UFW union is ready to train citizens and legal residents who are ready to replace them in the field. UFWs encouraging the unemployed to apply for the thousands of agricultural jobs being posted with state agencies as harvest season begins.
Applicants are directed to go to the website listed above and fill out the information. “Farm workers are ready to train citizens and legal residents who wish to replace them in the field, we will use our knowledge and staff to help connect the unemployed with farm employers. Just fill out the form to the right and continue on to the request for job application,” the website says.
“The reality is farmworkers who are here today aren’t taking any American jobs away. They work in often unbearable situations,” Mr. Rodriguez told the Associated Press. “I don’t think there will be many takers, but the offer is being made. Let’s see what happens.”
To highlight how unlikely the prospect of Americans lining up to pick strawberries or grapes, Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report” plans to feature the “Take Our Jobs” campaign on July 8.
“The campaign is being played for jokes, but the need to secure the right to work for immigrants who are here is serious business,” Michael Rubio, supervisor in Kern County, one of the biggest ag producing counties in the nation told the Associated Press.
“Our county, our economy, rely heavily on the work of immigrant and unauthorized workers,” he said. “I would encourage all our national leaders to come visit Kern County and to spend one day, or even half a day, in the shoes of these farm workers.”
According to the AP, California’s agriculture industry launched a similar campaign in 1998, hoping to recruit welfare recipients and unemployed workers to work on farms. Three people showed up.
“Give us a legal, qualified work force. Right now, farmers don’t know from day to day if they’re going to get hammered by ICE,” said Manuel Cunha, president of the California grower association Nisei Farmers League, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “What happens to my labor pool?”
While the campaign may play for some jobs, the bottom line is that the US Congress and the President need to find a way to address this serious issue. As I said before, we need to find a way to allow people who wish to actually come to this country and work, to be able to legally and safely do so.
For all of the concerns about drugs, crime, and other related problems associated with illegal immigration, most of those would go away as soon as we set up a reasonable policy that gives those who want to come and work a fighting chance to do so. How much are we spending patrolling our borders, employing agents for ICE and other border agencies when we could simply streamline the immigration process and address most of the problems.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
A fair proposal. End welfare and extended unemployment subsidies and the offer could become tempting. It’s simple economics- citizens are paid NOT to work here. Work hard in field or sit at home and watch oprah? The subsidized leisure class may be lazy, but it isn’t stupid.
Cut-off illegal immigration and farmers will increase wages. Result will be more tempting work and higher food prices. Higher food prices create jobs in Mexico so they can send thousands of truckloads of produce to take advantage of those prices, thus driving them down again. US farmers then are at disadvantage. Result is call for tariffs.
Granted, there is a demand for cheap seasonal agriculture workers that will be difficult to fill with citizens. If all the illegals were doing was seasonal agriculture work, I do not think you would find much of an objection to granting them some sort of seasonal worker permit. However, of the 12 million or so illegals in this country 50% are employed in construction, manufacturing, or leisure and hospitality industries. A third of illegals live in the 3 cites of LA, New York, or Chicago. The one group of citizens that illegals in non-agriculture industries do compete with is the 30% of students who drop out of high school prior to graduation. These types of relatively low skill jobs are about all that a high school drop-out can hope to get in to.
Oh I’m sorry, all white people are lazy, dont want to work for minimum wage, and all mexicans and illegal immigrants don’t get on welfare, work really hard for next to nothing right?
that’s a mythology that only perpetuations the status quo. Americans do work in the fields, clean houses, and do yard work for pretty much the same amount as illegal immigrants.
Oh yes and guess what gunrock, illegal immigrants do get welfare and housing subsidies. American tax payers, subsidize their low wages with welfare, food stamps, and medi-cal and they work under the table, because they are undocumented. Then they send their money back home to mexico.
So please, don’t do me any favors, I’d be happy to take back our jobs and balance the budget, because right now, we’re feeding, clothing, and housing latin america, and it’s all to justify “cheap” food prices. Tell me gunrock, just how “cheap” is it? What’s the real cost to paying illegal immigrants 600 dollars a month?
Have you ever driven by the fields throughout the year? How many people are actually working the fields? With modern agribusiness machinery, there’s only need for laborers a few days a year. So where do they go for the rest of the year? They stay here and live off of welfare. just like the rest of us lazy americans! you’re ridiculous in your arguments. I remember slave owners said the same thing. They continually threatened the world, that if slavery ended, food prices would be higher, and the economy would collapse.
I’m sick and tired of you fuxxxing conservatives and constant threats to American consumers. If it’s not environmental controls that will destroy the universe, it’s higher wages..
good god, minimum wage was raised, and did the world end? if there were any policies that resulted in the recent economic crisis, it was lower taxes, deregulation, and low wages..
you’re an idiot gunrock and hopefully soon, your generation will die off along with your idiotic justifications.
[quote]Oh I’m sorry, all white people are lazy, dont want to work for minimum wage, and all mexicans and illegal immigrants don’t get on welfare, work really hard for next to nothing right?[/quote]
half of the people who live in this country legally are non-white, so I’m not sure how that follows.
The UFW is spot on in promoting this campaign. Very few people realize how much food they eat is handled by Mexican workers from the field work to the processing plants to shipping. And this covers orchards and field crops and dairies and poultry plants; you name it and it is Mexican labor that is bringing it to our tables.
I have been involved in family farming orchard crops near Merced CA since I was a kid – over 50 years and counting. When we were young, a lot of the field work was done by us and other local kids for piece work pay. But the only people we can get to work the orchards now besides the nieces and nephews (and it is like pulling teeth to get them out there) are the Mexican laborers. To hear them disparaged by the white tea-baggers who decry the loss of jobs they cause in America is a sad joke. How many of the nay-sayers have ever even set foot on a farm much less worked in 100 deg heat running up and down 13 ft picking ladders carrying 30-40 lbs of produce they just picked. And for this back-breaking 8 hours a day labor they will earn $60 bucks on average; 100 bucks if it is a really, really good orchard.
We are now absolutely dependent on Mexican laborers to feed this country…no white or Asian or black folks will do the work anymore. God Bless the Mexican worker! As a group, they are the hardest working, most family oriented, most-honest ethnic group in America!
oh my, I appear to have confused (and aparantly angered) indigorocks…
There was not a single word of advocacy for any position at all in my statement- not one. I think that you are confusing a statement of economic reality with a political position. I am not in favor of illegal immigration. I do recognize that economic forces are far more powerful than borders, fences, laws or good intentions.
I am no fan of subsidized anything. Not farming, not illegals living here, not lifestyles (mexican or American).
I suspect what you are angry about is something called “consequences”… you do one thing, and something else happens. Liberals to be confused by that word and it generally makes them angry.
“Oh I’m sorry, all white people are lazy, dont want to work for minimum wage, and all mexicans and illegal immigrants don’t get on welfare, work really hard for next to nothing right?
that’s a mythology that only perpetuations the status quo. Americans do work in the fields, clean houses, and do yard work for pretty much the same amount as illegal immigrants.”
I don’t think anyone made the claim that Americans don’t work in those fields. The fact is, in certain areas of the country, a great number of positions in those fields are filled by illegal residents, many of whom are Mexican.
“Oh yes and guess what gunrock, illegal immigrants do get welfare and housing subsidies. American tax payers, subsidize their low wages with welfare, food stamps, and medi-cal and they work under the table, because they are undocumented. Then they send their money back home to mexico.”
Illegal residents cannot be the recipients of social services(with some extreme exceptions I think), including all of which you’ve listed in your comment, period. However, they may receive some aid, when applicable, if they have American-born children. Aid for Americans, no different than other American children whose parent’s aren’t able to meet their basic needs as a result of their economic hardships. Don’t like those “anchor babies” sucking the life out of the economy, well just amend the Constitution, born here…than you’re an American citizen, unless the newborn’s biological parents are illegal residents from Mexico or any other Latin American country.
“So please, don’t do me any favors, I’d be happy to take back our jobs and balance the budget, because right now, we’re feeding, clothing, and housing latin america, and it’s all to justify “cheap” food prices.”
Are you implying that, but for the illegal residents working oops…stealing those laborious positions, the American (or Californian) economy would be in much better shape and our budget balanced? In all cases, would we be “taking back” jobs from the illegal workers? Are you sure in certain cases that illegal laborers weren’t always working those positions? Is there a real problem in which American employers are frequently turning down qualified American workers for illegal residents? I think the jobs that American businesses have outsourced, thus feeding, housing and clothing citizens of those countries, is more of a problem than this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLni3wbndls
“Have you ever driven by the fields throughout the year? How many people are actually working the fields? With modern agribusiness machinery, there’s only need for laborers a few days a year. So where do they go for the rest of the year? They stay here and live off of welfare.”
How often and at what time of day or night are you cruising around the fields monitoring the activity in them? Regardless, your anecdote is just that. Also, couldn’t they find work in some other field or go back to whatever country they left, when their seasonal job is no more? It would be near impossible for an illegal resident to survive solely on the welfare money they receive for their American-born children, if they have any at all.
If it were cheaper and more efficient for an employer to use machinery, as opposed to humans, why would they bother hiring an illegal resident and risk the repercussions of employing them?
“Have you ever driven by the fields throughout the year? How many people are actually working the fields?”
Yes. I live in the country. The answer is LOTS.
“With modern agribusiness machinery, there’s only need for laborers a few days a year.”
Untrue.
“So where do they go for the rest of the year?”
Other crops, which have different cycles of planting, weeding, and harvesting. And migrant workers, as the name implies, migrate.
David: . . . how to allow people who wish to work in this country to do so in an efficient and reasonable manner.
Undocumented workers comprise approximately 35% of some crafts in the building trades, especially in So. Cal. Drywall, concrete, painting, and framing wages started getting depressed beginning in the late 80’s. And as the highly-publicized (poorly handled) raids of the last few years have shown, even fairly large employers in other industries are willing to hire anyone who will work for less, eventually driving wages down to federal minimums*.
The UFW campaign is a good start, but only that. Outside the fields it’s a little different: ‘Americans won’t do the work for the wages paid.”
[*Note: IMHO the employers should have been jailed and the their businesses confiscated and sold to pay reparations to the displaced workers. But that’s whole ‘nother discussion.]
[i]”Other crops, which have different cycles of planting, weeding, and harvesting. And migrant workers, as the name implies, migrate.”[/i]
A fairly common migratory pattern for itinerant Mexican workers (who have papers) is to work spring crops in one part of the country, move on to summer crops in another part, go somewhere else to work the fall season and then return to Mexico for a few months in the winter. When I used to fish up in Alaska, I knew a few Mexican cannery workers who followed this pattern. They worked strawberries, salmon and then apples.
As it happens, in the last 25 years, Latinos have become a very large percentage of the year-round Alaskan workforce*. They not only work in the canneries, but some fish, work on the processing ships and work in logging and mineral extraction. (I don’t know about oil workers. I’ve never been anywhere near the North Slope.)
*They are officially only 6% of the total Alaska population. But in the summers they are probably closer to 20%. And I suspect that census figure is undercounting them because many still go back and forth to Mexico.
African Americans had their “days in the sun” nearly 400 years in American Agriculture. Maybe its time for another group to step up.How about it?
Some will probably argue that this documentary (summarized in the following trailer) is slanted toward a political position of lax immigration policy, but it does bring up the economic angle in an interesting way:
[url]http://www.9500liberty.com/[/url]
You could clamp down on immigration and hurt yourself in ways you didn’t expect. See Gunrock’s reference to the issue of “consequences”.