National Council of Farmer Cooperatives President and CEO Chuck Conner said Tuesday that his members are “deeply concerned” that the Trump administration has reversed course on announced guidance to stop immigration raids on farms and other agriculture-related businesses.
“We are deeply concerned with reports that the Department of Homeland Security has issued new guidance reversing course on last week’s actions and urging a resumption of enforcement actions on farms and other agribusinesses,” Conner said in a news release. “This directly contradicts the commitments made by President Trump to America’s farmers and ranchers, first in April and again last week. We continue to monitor the situation on the ground at farms, packing houses, and other ag facilities around the country so that all parts of this administration are held to that commitment. In addition, the uncertainty created by these seeming policy shifts are doing grave damage to producers and their ability to help feed their fellow citizens.”
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said, “President Trump recently emphasized agriculture faces unique circumstances that warrant a different approach to enforcement practices. Agriculture is inherently labor intensive — farmers cannot care for crops and animals without the contributions of the men and women willing to do the hard work. These are dedicated employees who work alongside farm families every day.
“Current agriculture workforce programs are broken. They do not meet the year-round needs of farmers, and they’ve become so expensive they are out of reach for many farmers. Unfortunately, domestic workers do not apply for farm jobs, despite aggressive hiring efforts. Without farm workers, vegetables will be left in the fields, fruit will remain unpicked, and cows will go unmilked. The end result is a reduced food supply and higher grocery prices for all of America’s families.
“Congress must prioritize fixing the farm labor crisis that the president identified. Outdated systems must be modernized so farmers can find enough workers to help plant and harvest crops and care for livestock. America can have both a secure border and a labor program that provides a desperately needed and dependable farm workforce.”
In addition, The National Milk Producers Federation sent out a news release in which Jim Boyle, co-owner of Casa Grande Dairy Co., a 3,600-cow operation in Casa Grande, Ariz., and chairman of the NMPF Immigration Task Force, said, “With renewed national attention on border security and immigration enforcement, farmers nationwide are wondering if they could be affected. The president is right about securing the border, but any enforcement action needs to go hand-in-hand with a labor reform package.”
In the short term, President Trump’s direction last week for federal law enforcement to put a hold on actions at farms, meatpackers, restaurants and hotels, since reversed, was a positive step, Boyle added. Longer-term, he said, agriculture still needs a solution that lessens anxieties not only for the farmer and the worker but also for the future reliability of the food supply that the administration is trying to protect.
The United Farm Workers said on social media that the “shift” away from the raids never happened.
NOTUS, Axios, MSNBC, The Guardian, CBS and CNN all attempted to analyze the shifting situation.
Also Tuesday, New York City comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by federal agents at an immigration court Tuesday after he linked arms with a person that authorities were attempting to detain, the Associated Press reported.
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