Immigration Continued from Page 3 question,” Viohl said. “Realistically, for this Congress, there are slim chances on most of them.” Yet there may be potential shifts in the political calculus around immigration re- forms as labor costs and worker shortages plague businesses in Republican districts. In May, some Republicans held out on voting for their own party’s border security bill based on its inclusion of a mandatory
E-Verify provision that farmers said would decimate their workforce. Earlier this month, a Florida state law cracking down on the employment of undocumented immi- grants drew criticism from industry groups for driving farm and construction workers out of the state. Meanwhile, the rising cost of the H-2A program has “really started to impact some states that have not traditionally advocated for reform,” Viohl said. “A lot of Southeast states are starting to really feel
the pinch.” An implication of that, he said, is the po- tential for wider recognition that the sta- tus quo “is not sustainable.” Already, the Michigan Farm Bureau changed its stance on the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, joining the California Farm Bureau in supporting it. “We have more states that are saying, ‘Hey, we need to do something about this,’” Viohl said. California farmers have sounded the alarm for years. This year, growers
reported, labor contractors in Southern California are scrambling for workers to pick the state’s avocados, offering em- ployees bonuses to recruit friends. In Napa Valley, the harvest of the region’s re- nowned cabernet winegrapes hinges on employing expensive guest workers. “At some point,” Viohl said, “we have to have some change.” (Caleb Hampton is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at champton@cfbf.com.)
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July 26, 2023 Ag Alert 9
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