The Trump Administration Is Still Targeting Migrant Agricultural Workers

The following is part of an article by Michele Norris at MSNBC:

 Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins is making an unrealistic pledge to create a “100% American workforce” in agriculture.

One hundred percent American is a surefire applause line for the Trump faithful, as evidenced by the applause Rollins received at a recent press conference where she shared the idea. However, it shows an unfortunate lack of understanding of the current state of play for farmers who are struggling mightily to find a reliable workforce in all corners of America.

The numbers tell the story. There are more than 2.6 million people working on farms in the United States. That includes 1 million workers for hire who are primarily immigrants. According to recent KFF data, 1 in 10 workers are Hispanic and two-thirds are noncitizen immigrants. While a small percent hold work authorization or a green card with protective status, almost half lack formal work authorization. . . .

“Ultimately the answer on this is automation, also some reform within the current governing structure,” Rollins said. “And then also, when you think about it, there are 34 million able-bodied adults in our Medicaid program. There are plenty of workers in America, but we just have to make sure we are not compromising today, especially in the context of everything we are thinking about right now.”

Rollins said there would be no amnesty for farm workers and that the mass deportations would continue “in a strategic and intentional way, as we move our workforce towards more automation and towards a 100% American workforce.”

Rollins also noted that given the number of able-bodied adults on Medicaid, “we should be able to do that fairly quickly.”

Unsurprisingly, members of the farming community have openly scoffed at this idea.

Michael Marsh, president and CEO of the National Council of Agricultural Employers, told Brownfield Ag News, “I just can’t imagine somebody from New York City wanting to take a job in New York to milk a cow in order to qualify for their Medicaid. To me that just doesn’t make sense.”

“If a Medicaid recipient is required to work I can guarantee you that farm work would be one of the last jobs a Medicaid recipient would seek,” said Tom Vilsack, who was the secretary of agriculture for 12 years under Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. “It is physically demanding and at times dangerous. The notion … suggests a misunderstanding of who is on Medicaid and why. I think the secretary will find that being ‘able-bodied’ does not mean that any individual can work in the difficult conditions that farmworkers face with reference to the nature of the work and the weather conditions (both hot and cold) in which the work is performed.” . . .

The agriculture sector is ranked one of the most dangerous in America. Whether it’s picking melons, detasseling corn, harvesting sugar beets or yanking lettuce from the ground, farm work is grueling and perilous. The people who work in the fields face heat stress, pesticide exposure, the risk of chemical burns, repetitive motion injuries, joint damage and hearing loss. (That last thing might confuse city folks, but anyone who has been within earshot of a tractor or a combine harvester or the gigantic towers that dry grain or corn understands why the decibel level causes danger.) The machinery alone presents unique hazards, with tractor rollovers and gigantic blades and fast-moving conveyor belts. And the current uptick in ICE raids has only made agriculture labor more perilous, as we saw in reports over the weekend of the death of Jaime Alanis Garcia, a farmworker who fell 30 feet off a building when he was allegedly trying to avoid federal agents during a raid at a cannabis farm in Ventura County, California. . . .

Harvest season is fast approaching. For some crops it’s already here, and nature is not patient. Produce must be pulled on a timely basis before the bugs or the sun reduce its viability and value. . . .

Here’s one thing that has 100% certainty: With no realistic plan to replace the farmworkers who are being rounded up or who are too afraid to show up for work, we are all going to reap a rough harvest in coming months. The workers. The farmers. The retailers and the consumers. Think about that next time you’re in the produce aisle.

Mean Is An Art Form For Congressional GOP

The Republicans want to cut food stamps by $20 billion. They will tell you that they cut those badly needed funds because the federal government just doesn't have the money to pay for it. That is an outrageous lie! And their own behavior shows it is a lie -- because they turned right around and put that $20 billion into increased funding for crop insurance for rich white farmers. If we can't afford to feed hungry children, how is it that we have the money to spend on these farmers? Could it be because hungry children can't afford to make fat campaign donations to Republican candidates?

Racist Immigration Law Backfires In Georgia

The right-wingers in Georgia thought it would be great to jump on the anti-immigrant bandwagon. They didn't want to be left out as states like Arizona and Alabama got all the publicity for passing racist anti-immigrant laws that appealed to the teabaggers. After all, what could be the downside to opposing immigrants -- especially the brown-skinned ones? To their way of thinking it would get votes and save the states for "real Americans".

But reality and politics don't always mesh very well -- especially right-wing politics (which has little to do with reality). The law was meant to get rid of the state's illegal immigrants. And it worked -- too well. The undocumented workers left the state in droves after the law was passed. The only problem, a problem evidently no one had considered, was that the state needed those workers.

Now the state's agriculture industry is in trouble. There is produce rotting in the fields because there are no workers to harvest them. The state took a survey and found out they were at least 11,000 workers short of the number they need (and it may be much worse than that since many farmers didn't answer the survey). Now the state's right-wing leadership is searching for an answer to the problem they have created -- an answer that wouldn't involve them having to repeal the law and look as stupid as they are.

The governor of the state says, "The agriculture industry is the number one economic engine in Georgia and it is my sincere hope to find viable and law-abiding solutions to the current problem our farmers face." (He neglects to mention that it was him and his cohorts in the legislature that created the problem.)

The governor has suggested that the farm jobs be given to the approximately 2,000 criminal probationers in southwest Georgia who are unemployed. This is a pitiful and unworkable solution. Even if these people would take those farm jobs, which most probably wouldn't, it wouldn't even cover 20% of the workers that are needed.

This is a prime example of right-wingers passing a law based on their own racist attitudes without realizing the real-world consequences of their silly law. The funny part of all this is that their best hope for a solution (without admitting their own idiocy) may lie with a federal judge overturning the law. That way they could bad-mouth the judge -- while breathing a sigh of relief and thanking their lucky stars.

Gilbert Speaks Out On Immigration Law

As almost everyone should know by now, the state of Arizona has passed a new law that would require citizens to carry identity papers and would force their police officers to start racially profiling people in the state. Yesterday, I posted about two Texas state legislators who are going to introduce a similar law in the Texas legislature next year (the legislature won't meet again until early 2011).

Now Hank Gilbert, Democratic candidate for Texas Agriculture Commissioner, has decided that it is time for honest politicians to step up and oppose the idea of such a racist and unconstitutional law. Gilbert says the law is not only wrong, but it will hurt Texas financially. He's not talking about people boycotting the state (as is happening to Arizona). He's talking about the serious damage it would do to Texas agriculture, and thus to all Texans. Here is what Gilbert had to say:

"If you want to talk about driving up food costs, slashing tax revenues, and damaging our economy, then Leo Berman's bill is exactly what you want. I cannot imagine someone proposing something so irresponsible or damaging to Texas agriculture."

"The fact of the matter is this: undocumented immigrants make up a significant segment of the agricultural labor force in Texas. These men and women help Texas grow food not just for our state, but for the rest of the nation. If you take away their ability to move freely within our society and survive without being under constant threat of police action, they will go somewhere else for jobs."

"Now, I know that's probably what Representative Berman wants-he'd rather undocumented individuals go to Oklahoma or Louisiana to work. But the fact is that we have a vital ag industry in Texas, and we have work for people who come to Texas from Latin America and Mexico."

"While it may be good Republican politics to scream and shout about illegal immigration, it is both bad economics and tantamount to racial profiling. I personally do not want to live in a state where Hispanic Americans are constantly stopped and asked for their 'papers.' It is reminiscent of living in Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union where identity papers were required at all times. Texas doesn't need that. Human beings from south of our border who are coming and working in Texas-who contribute more in tax revenue than they cost the state in services -deserve some dignity. It is not the responsibility of the state to enforce or enact Federal immigration laws."

"At the end of the day, it's exactly the thing you'd want to do if you want to cause long-term damage to the economy in Texas."

Gilbert Scolds Staples Over Biofuels

Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples decided the other day that Texas needs to do another study of biofuels. Evidently he thinks there haven't been enough studies and the voters would be happy to pay for one more. His opponent in the next election, Democrat Hank Gilbert (pictured) disagrees. He thinks enough studies have been done and it is time for action. Here is Gilbert's answer to Staples' suggestion:

"Todd Staples seriously believes, despite mountains of available research, studies, and projects relating to biofuels in Texas and around the nation, that what we need is another study? We don't need any more studies. It's time to take action."

"Why would we turn Texas' energy future over to some company that will essentially compile already available research? Texas has some of the world's foremost research scientists-and biofuels projects already underway through the Texas Engineering Experiment Station at Texas A&M University and ongoing efforts at the University of Texas at Austin. What purpose does it serve handing out state dollars to a private company to tell us what we already know-that Texas is ripe for biofuel production and confirm what we already know about which energy crops will work best in our state?"

"If all they are doing at this point is commissioning a study, why did it take them four months to do it? This study won't even run that long; the final report from it is due at the end of August."

"During that time, all that can be done is basically take existing research and compile it into a report. Why the state is spending money on a private contractor to do that is beyond comprehension. Why doesn't Todd Staples make use of the talented employees at TDA or even a panel of university researchers in Texas for this project? It isn't like they are being commissioned to actually grow any biofuels crops."

"We need action, not studies. Research has been ongoing for years-far more than will be accomplished by a four-month study. This is yet another example of Todd Staples trying to look busy in an election year. Voters will want to know why he's waited so long to take action on a critical piece of the energy future of this state."

Could Farming Help Revive Detroit ?

Detroit is a city in trouble. At the height of the auto industry years ago, Detroit was a thriving metropolis. But downsizing, off-shoring and the current economic recession have hit the city hard. Official government statistics put unemployment in the city at nearly 18%, but the city's Mayor says the actual situation is much worse than that. He believes that nearly half of the city's workers are either unemployed or underemployed.

In addition, about one-third of Detroit's 376,000 parcels of land are either vacant or abandoned, with houses and factories sitting empty and decaying -- thus creating a huge and growing area of urban blight. With the current recession still raging, the establishment of new factories seems far-fetched. But Michael Score, president of Hantz Farms, thinks he may have at least a partial solution to Detroit's problems -- large-scale urban farming.

Score says, "There's so much land available and it's begging to be used. Farming is how Detroit started, and farming is how Detroit can be saved." Hantz Farms is now in the process of buying up vacant and unused parcels of land in the city, with an eye to turning them into commercial agricultural areas.

Because of the urban environment, they are not able to purchase large areas of land in one spot. So they have developed the idea of "pods". Each pod will grow a different crop, that will be determined by the quality of the soil in that pod. The best land will grow fruits and vegetables, while houses and factories will be used for hydroponic crops or mushrooms. Land that is too contaminated for food will be planted with trees -- both to beautify the city and provide a source for biofuels.

Hantz will plant their first 30 acres in the city next Spring, and hope to eventually farm over 5,000 acres within the city limits. So far, the city fathers are enthusiastic about the idea. The idea could help the city in several ways. Most obvious, of course, are the creation of jobs and the beautification of the city.

But it will also provide a badly needed source of healthy food for city residents. There are no major grocery store chains in the city, and nearly 75% of the city's residents buy their groceries at convenience stores or gas stations -- where fresh produce is almost nonexistent.

Will this urban farming solve all of Detroit's problems? No. But it certainly could help turn the city around and put it on the road to recovery.

We could use a lot more of this kind of creative thinking and innovative solutions -- not just in Detroit, but all over this country.