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Experts tell FOX Business that the U.S. agriculture sector, which relies heavily on immigrant workers, would face difficulties if President-elect Trump implements his proposed mass deportation plan, leading to higher consumer prices. He said it would be.
Food economist and Michigan State University professor David Ortega said consumers could face higher prices due to shocks to labor supply, but they would also face higher prices on imported goods under threat of tariffs. Dependency will also increase.
“It's important to emphasize that these people fill critical roles that many American-born workers are unwilling or unable to fill,” he said.
If implemented, this could result in reduced crop yields and unharvested fields, especially in specialty crop sectors that rely heavily on human labor. Ortega explained that producers and businesses will likely have to raise wages to attract enough workers, and that increased costs will ultimately be passed on to consumers.
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However, farmers complain that it is difficult to get Americans to do these jobs, as they are labor-intensive.
According to the 2019-2020 National Farm Worker Survey, only 36% of farmworkers surveyed were U.S. citizens, 19% were legal permanent residents, and an additional 1% were on H-2A visas. had any other work permit with another status except.
Farm workers cut and pick asparagus at A-Bar Ag Enterprises in Firebaugh on Friday, March 22, 2024. (Allen J. Scherben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)/Getty Images)
“People picking tomatoes, people picking avocados…these people are out in the fields, and Americans wouldn't touch these jobs,” said the sixth-generation sheep in Utah. Rancher Carson Jorgensen told FOX Business. “We rely on immigrant workers, many legal and some illegal, to do these jobs, and it's not about underpaying them; it's about paying them less. It's important to find out.”
One tool that farmers, including Mr. Jorgensen, are taking advantage of is the H-2A program, in which U.S. employers or U.S. agents who meet certain regulatory requirements send people overseas to work in temporary agricultural jobs. Allow people to be brought into the country.
This aerial photo shows sprinklers watering a lettuce field on February 9, 2023 in Holtville, California. (Sandy Huffaker/AFP) (Photo by Sandy Huffaker/AFP, Getty Images/Getty Images)
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But Ortega and Jorgensen said the program presents its own significant challenges.
“It's a nightmare. It's an absolute nightmare to do it legally…but we also can't find Americans to do the job,” Jorgensen said. He typically employs two or three shepherds, all of whom have H-2A visas.
Migrant workers pick strawberries during harvest season south of San Francisco, California. (Visions of America/Joe Sohm/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“We have to get this imported labor… but the system they've created to bring these people here is completely destructive,” he continued.
Jorgensen said it takes on average six months to get an H-2A visa approved. But he said it took nearly eight months to obtain a visa for one of his recent staffers, despite using all of his congressional resources.
“In agriculture, that’s not good,” he said. “Nothing stops in agriculture. If there aren't enough people.” [on] Please help, waiting 6-8 months is not really an option. ”
On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to crack down on illegal immigration. Caroline Leavitt, who was Trump Vance's transition press secretary and whom Trump nominated to be his post-inauguration press secretary, told Fox Business that Trump is “an illegal criminal, a drug trafficker, a human “We will mobilize all necessary federal and state powers to begin this operation.” Eliminate human traffickers in American history while simultaneously reducing costs for families. ”
But Jorgensen said most agricultural workers in large factories and small farms didn't just walk across the border. “Many of the people involved in the agricultural sector come here on work visas and stay after their visas expire,” he said.
Jorgensen estimates that, especially in the case of shepherds, U.S. industries are likely to pay workers four to five times more per month than they earn back home, which puts families in a better financial position. I am doing it.
Farmers tend to their crops at Serra Farms on June 15, 2023 in Brentwood, New York. (Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM via Getty Images)/Getty Images)
“It prepares their children for the future. It allows us to send our children to good schools. It does all kinds of things, and it's a huge sacrifice on their part. But again, the risk is worth the reward for them,” he said. continued.
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Shirley Oza, another sheep rancher in California, told FOX Business that the visa process is not only strict, but also expensive. Auza's husband, Martin, started the business in 1972.
Auza said he would have gone out of business without H-2A Via. However, she stressed that there are regulations that must be adhered to at all times.
“It's like fighting the government to stay in business,” she says.
Misty Charley, executive director of the Critical Labor Coalition, said the United States faces a “deepening” labor shortage and a diminishing supply of American workers. Chaley stressed that creating pathways for legal immigration is “essential” to address this crisis and support these essential workers.
