WCAX (Burlington, Vermont)

July 19, 2007

Farmers Hurt By Lack of Immigration Reform

Richmond, Vermont -- The failure to pass a comprehensive immigration bill in Congress could spell trouble for Vermont agriculture. The immigration bill was a political flash point, and its demise -- at least for now -- means that many immigrant farm workers are subject to deportation.

The immigration bill would have set up a guest worker program allowing Mexicans and other foreigners to live and work in the United States -- legally. In spite of the inclusion of enhanced enforcement measures along the southern border, the immigration bill fell prey to regional and political differences. The demise of the bill highlights a labor shortage on Vermont dairy farms.

The Vermont Farm Bureau says the Mexicans and other workers from Latin America who come here to work full time are an asset, not a security threat. State Farm Bureau President Jackie Folsom told Channel 3, "The immigrants who have come up here and found their way to Vermont and worked on the farms have proven to be wonderful employees, and very good with the animals and very reliable."

Vermont has an estimated 1500 to 2000 foreign farm workers, mostly Mexicans. Many are here illegally, so farmers who employ them are reluctant to talk to us. Folsom says farmers are constantly at risk of losing their workers. "Part of the issue now is with security concerns and with Homeland Security," she said. "Some of the border patrol issues have popped up in Vermont. And so we are losing some of our workers to folks coming in and taking them."

Folsom says farmers have been caught up in border politics. She says that the failure to pass immigration reform will have unintended consequences -- financial harm not only to farmers, but to the larger economy. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) supported the big immigration bill, but now says he'll try to put together enough support to pass a limited measure that would allow qualified foreign workers in fields where there are labor shortages. Farm advocates say an immigration law that allows foreign workers would put stability back into farm employment.

Leahy said, "But if we can't do a comprehensive bill, I'm strongly in favor of doing something for the high-tech areas and something for agriculture, especially dairy, which isn't seasonal agriculture but it's year-round agriculture. I think we can do it. I'm cautiously optimistic."

The employers themselves can avoid criminal problems under current law by taking due diligence -- making sure the foreign worker has filled out a federal form and provided ID. Folsom said, "Just as with IBM and National Life, the extent of the legality that the farmer has to determine is whether they have a social security card that looks real, and also they're able to fill out the I-9 form. So that is the extent to which any employer has to worry about legal issues."

The problem is that the Social Security card may be forged, or the form may not be filled out accurately. Gov. Jim Douglas (R-Vermont) admitted that even his wife's family farm may unknowingly have hired illegal aliens who provided ID that looked OK. Still, the farmer or other employer is stuck if the government comes in and seizes the worker.

State Farm Bureaus all over the country held a telephone conference call on Wednesday. Folsom said farmers in the Midwest talked about their own labor shortages. Some said they may have to pick between two crops -- for instance, blueberries and asparagus -- and decide which one to harvest and which to plow under. They said they simply don't have the labor to do both.