The Birmingham News: Farmers told government officials Thursday not enough has been done to fix the labor shortage triggered by Alabama's new immigration law that's making it difficult to harvest their crops.
At a hearing that attracted about 100 people Thursday to the Blount County Agri-Business Center, concerned farmers and citizens told three north Alabama lawmakers about the hardships the law's has created for them. Farmers say the state's immigration law -- considered to be the nation's toughest -- has prompted the workers they counted on to leave.
Potato farmer Keith Smith said he has few immigrant workers left to work his fields, and he pointed out that they do twice as much work as Alabama workers the law's supposed to help employ.
"Everybody here pretty much knows what we're up against," he said. "I can stand up here and talk all day and it's really not gonna help a whole lot."
Jeremy Calvert, a farmer in Bremen, said he wishes the majority of the state that says it's in favor of the tough immigration law could understand the farmers' side of the story. He says what really troubles him the most is that people are calling him and other farmers "un-American" because they have to hire immigrant labor.
"The 80 percent of people are being fed by the 1 percent of us," he told the audience.
A short-term solution to replace the workers lost because of the law is needed until lawmakers can tweak the legislation next session, state representatives told the farmers. Many farmers and others affected say the programs being discussed won't apply to their farms. Others said they can't wait for the suggested programs which could take time, even as farmers continue to suffer.
"The government and legislators jumped in the street without first looking both ways," said Cody Ewing of Jerry Marsh Farm in Locust Fork.
Alabama State Reps. Elwyn Thomas, Jeremy Oden, and Blaine Galliher participated in the discussion. Oden, R-Vinemont, said in an interview after the meeting that he doesn't regret voting in favor of the bill, but thinks he and others are open to making modifications to it during the next session. He said a possible fix could be a "blue card" -- or temporary worker program -- for workers, but whatever they decide to do, the state can't trump federal law.
"It still all has to fall within that complicated, convoluted, outdated immigration bill that the federal government's got," he said.
Two new bills in Congress would reform the way the agriculture industry hires temporary workers. Their sponsors say the changes would insure an adequate and affordable labor supply for growers; but farmworker advocates say they would remove labor protections, cut wages and encourage the industry to hire even more nonresidents.
One of the proposals, from Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, would create a new H-2C visa program to be administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and allow up to 500,000 seasonal workers a year into the country. Growers would be able to provide either housing or a housing voucher and the worker would have to return home after 10 months.
At a hearing that attracted about 100 people Thursday to the Blount County Agri-Business Center, concerned farmers and citizens told three north Alabama lawmakers about the hardships the law's has created for them. Farmers say the state's immigration law -- considered to be the nation's toughest -- has prompted the workers they counted on to leave.
Potato farmer Keith Smith said he has few immigrant workers left to work his fields, and he pointed out that they do twice as much work as Alabama workers the law's supposed to help employ.
"Everybody here pretty much knows what we're up against," he said. "I can stand up here and talk all day and it's really not gonna help a whole lot."
Jeremy Calvert, a farmer in Bremen, said he wishes the majority of the state that says it's in favor of the tough immigration law could understand the farmers' side of the story. He says what really troubles him the most is that people are calling him and other farmers "un-American" because they have to hire immigrant labor.
"The 80 percent of people are being fed by the 1 percent of us," he told the audience.
A short-term solution to replace the workers lost because of the law is needed until lawmakers can tweak the legislation next session, state representatives told the farmers. Many farmers and others affected say the programs being discussed won't apply to their farms. Others said they can't wait for the suggested programs which could take time, even as farmers continue to suffer.
"The government and legislators jumped in the street without first looking both ways," said Cody Ewing of Jerry Marsh Farm in Locust Fork.
Alabama State Reps. Elwyn Thomas, Jeremy Oden, and Blaine Galliher participated in the discussion. Oden, R-Vinemont, said in an interview after the meeting that he doesn't regret voting in favor of the bill, but thinks he and others are open to making modifications to it during the next session. He said a possible fix could be a "blue card" -- or temporary worker program -- for workers, but whatever they decide to do, the state can't trump federal law.
"It still all has to fall within that complicated, convoluted, outdated immigration bill that the federal government's got," he said.
Two new bills in Congress would reform the way the agriculture industry hires temporary workers. Their sponsors say the changes would insure an adequate and affordable labor supply for growers; but farmworker advocates say they would remove labor protections, cut wages and encourage the industry to hire even more nonresidents.
One of the proposals, from Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, would create a new H-2C visa program to be administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and allow up to 500,000 seasonal workers a year into the country. Growers would be able to provide either housing or a housing voucher and the worker would have to return home after 10 months.
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