Catch 22
John Schlageck
Saturday, March 17, 2007
There’s only one way to describe the current farm labor law — it’s broken.
On the one hand a Kansas farmer, or a contemporary across this country, cannot knowingly hire illegal workers. On the other hand, he/she cannot ask for documents to establish whether such workers are legal or not.
It’s a Catch 22.
What used to be a problem mainly in California and Florida has now become a challenge in America’s heartland. Today, thousands of workers from south of our borders are working in the Midwest.
This is bend and stoop labor — hard work. It is migratory work and requires following the crops, often from state to state. The people filling these jobs are documented workers — they provide documents that look legitimate, but aren’t always.
“If we don’t have this work force, the United States will be forced to import our food and produce from other countries,” says Austin Perez, American Farm Bureau congressional relations director. “We’re already dependent on foreign sources for our energy. We can’t afford to create that same problem for America’s food and fiber.”
This country must have a workable immigration bill that addresses farmer and rancher needs. Such a program must tackle three fundamental issues — like the legs of a three-legged stool — to make it work, Perez said.
First, ag producers must have a system they can follow and trust. Farmers and ranchers must know who is legal and who is not when hiring farm laborers. They must have this information so there will be no question or trouble concerning discrimination.
The second leg of this stool involves the workers who are already in this country. Approximately 1 million migrant laborers work in the United States each year.
They’re here. They’re providing documents that look legitimate. Farmers are hiring them to work on their farms because the documents appear to be legitimate. The Catch 22 remains — ag producers don’t know for certain whether these workers are legal or illegal — and they dare not ask.
So what happens when the Social Security administration checks individual farmers out? What about the Office of Homeland Security?
There must be a way to address the issue of these “mis-documented” workers.
Third, this country’s farmers and ranchers must have some form of temporary worker program. Ag producers need a program where they can bring in workers from outside this country’s borders when they can’t find workers locally or in their area.
Solving this immigration, guest worker issue during this session of Congress is key. Farmers and ranchers from Kansas and across this country need to contact their Congressional members.
They must talk to them early and often. Congress needs to hear agriculture’s individual stories. Members need to understand its importance in the farming community and realize it’s a top priority.
“This issue isn’t a Democratic or Republican issue,” Perez says. “We need a program that addresses our farmers’ needs. We need it fixed.”
John Schlageck has been writing about farming and ranching in Kansas for more than 25 years. He is the managing editor of “Kansas Living,” a quarterly magazine dedicated to agriculture and rural life in Kansas.