Farmers Press GOP on Hiring - Amid Immigration Crackdown, Growers Seek Allowance for Undocumented Workers

Workers pick onion bulbs on a Vidalia onion farm in Lyons, Ga., in May. Georgia is among states that have toughened undocumented-worker laws.

From The Wall Street Journal:

Recent Republican solidarity on illegal immigration is showing cracks under pressure from agriculture groups, with two GOP congressmen floating programs that would make it easier for foreigners to work legally in U.S. fields and orchards.

Labor researchers say more than 1.4 million people are employed as field workers in the U.S. each year, and the Labor Department estimates more than half of them are here illegally. Grower groups say that number exceeds 75%, and say measures pending in Congress could deprive Americans of homegrown food.

"We need land, water and labor to produce the food that feeds this country," said Tom Deardorff, a fourth-generation farmer in Southern California, who is on the board of Western Growers, a large trade group. "They've been trying to take away our labor."

In general, Republican White House contenders say it's premature to discuss changing immigration law until the border with Mexico is secure. Requests for comment from the major GOP presidential campaigns went unreturned late Tuesday afternoon.

Since President Barack Obama took office, the agricultural sector has been hit by federal immigration audits of payrolls that have forced some growers to shed hundreds of workers.

Amid high unemployment, mandatory E-Verify had resonated with many in Congress and appeared to have a solid chance of passing the Republican-controlled House. But farmers, who traditionally back the GOP, are pressuring lawmakers to oppose the bill.

Tension over E-Verify has erupted among Republican leaders, according to people involved in discussions.

Frustrated farmers have orchestrated a campaign called "Save America's Food and Economy" to raise awareness about the risks of E-Verify's passage. The group's website cautions that if Congress passes the bill, "we will find our farm industry collapsing and our nation outsourcing our food supply to nations like China and Mexico."

Meanwhile, farmers in several parts of the U.S. are already suffering from worker shortages thanks to a spate of state laws to quash illegal immigration.

Georgia and Alabama recently passed tough laws that prompted many undocumented workers to leave those states, undermining the harvest of tomatoes, blueberries and other crops.