Farmers push for reform as Trump’s immigration crackdown continues

SHOSHONE Idaho Just east of town a road cuts through sagebrush and fields of cows toward Donley Farms where Darren Taber manages the multigenerational operation Taber s -cow dairy requires constant attention and long hours but it s home It s the best place in the world to raise a family he commented It s a lot of late nights There s a lot of times that I m working -hour days Yet more and more Taber has been pulled away from this work and into procedures traveling to Washington D C to advocate for immigration restructuring that has been stalled for years Video by Carlos Rene Castro and Gracyn Thatcher News What I cannot stand is the fact that Congress cannot get anything across the finish line he disclosed Maybe we can t solve it all in one big beautiful bill Who knows Maybe we can The Trump administration s crackdown on immigration has left farmers worried about their livelihoods and workers frightened for their lives It s also renewed bipartisan calls to implement reforms for the people who help feed America Yeah get the criminals out Taber announced But your farmworkers are not your criminals Darren Taber owner and manager of Donley Farms looks out at particular of his farm s dairy cows on June in Shoshone Idaho Despite requiring year-round work Idaho s dairy industry doesn t have access to a visa project Photo by Ryan Luetkemeyer News President Donald Trump has indicated he might be amenable to a key In June after reports of arrests at a New Mexico dairy at a Nebraska meat production plant and in the fields of California the administration ordered a pause on workplace raids in agriculture and hospitality but it reversed subject days later Trump then declared in a July speech that he was working to help farmers who depend on migrant labor indicating his administration was making progress on decree to address the issue Trump and other leaders have discussed a work project that would ensure farmers have the labor they need but would not provide amnesty for farmworkers who lack legal status Multiple farmers insist they do what is required of any employer when hiring workers but say there is a growing expectation that employers police workers legal status We are not ICE agents noted Andrew Mickelsen co-owner of Mickelsen Farms a large potato farm in Idaho Last time I checked I haven t been deputized I haven t been issued a bulletproof vest or a gun and I haven t gotten a paycheck yet to be an ICE agent Andrew Mickelsen a partner in Mickelsen Farms walks through one of the farm s numerous potato warehouses on Tuesday June in Roberts Idaho Mickelsen says the farm couldn t complete harvest without H- A immigrant workers Photo by Ryan Luetkemeyer News Nearly of people working in agriculture were not born in the United States according to federal details and about of that workforce lacks legal status Yet protections for workers without legal status are limited The H- A visa is a temporary permit that allows farmers to hire foreign farmworkers if there aren t enough domestic workers to fill labor requirements a growing reality for employers In the U S issued around H- A visas Last year that number rose to Yet industries that require year-round labor such as Idaho dairy cannot legally hire workers using the temporary visa You can guess how dependent we are on an unauthorized workforce noted Rick Naerebout CEO of the Idaho Dairy Association who wants to see legal status for existing workers and access to a visa project that can meet labor demands We can t feed ourselves as a country if we don t find a resolution to this issue he mentioned For years federal lawmakers have introduced rule that would grant legal status to long-term workers but it has never gotten past the Senate The latest version of the bill would allow a qualified individual with extended employment in farmwork to become a certified agricultural worker on the condition of continued employment The bill also would provide at least H- A visas each year for the next decade for farmers with year-round labor necessities Half of those visas would be reserved for the dairy industry Zach Rutledge an agricultural economics expert at Michigan State University noted the bill s pathway to legal status may be what s holding it back It s hard to get bipartisan sponsorship when you re talking about legalizing hundreds of thousands of unauthorized workers especially in our current political context Rutledge revealed Rick Naerebout CEO of the Idaho Dairymen s Association stands on the balcony of his office overlooking the Snake River Canyon on June in Twin Falls Idaho Naerebout has advocated for immigration overhaul for two decades to no avail Photo by Ryan Luetkemeyer News Given that immigrants play an crucial role across various sectors of the country s business sector tension between business interests and those who encouragement mass deportations is growing We understand the need for enforcement Naerebout stated But we also have to have a conversation around immigration revision so that we don t damage our market California has the largest number of immigrants lacking legal status in the U S according to the Pew Research Center and is home to about half of the unauthorized agricultural worker population statistics show Since January immigration agents have arrested hundreds of people in the state increasing fear among those who work the fields and concern from those who employ them As the sun rises over the golden hills of California s Salinas Valley the region s farmworkers are already hunched at the waist planting and harvesting America s produce M M a farmworker from Puebla Mexico has been in the United States for over a decade She works long days harvesting cauliflower tomatoes and strawberries She requested anonymity because she is in the U S without legal status and the fear looms that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers could appear at any time She only leaves the house to go to work I m still afraid with the uncertainty of being deported she declared But oh well We have to keep working and move forward Left Sergio Munguia an H- A visa holder carries boxes to package strawberries at an organic farm on June in Royal Oaks Calif Right A farmworker harvests cauliflower on June in San Benito County Photos by Meghan O Brien News Farmworker S H works on a small organic farm nestled in the fertile soil of San Benito County part of the Salad Bowl of the World His efforts contribute to the Golden State s billion agriculture industry and yet he disclosed You don t feel safe anywhere Javier Zamora is a midsize organic farmer in the Salinas Valley who immigrated to the U S more than four decades ago He grows blueberries strawberries tomatoes and other produce on about acres of land Zamora wonders why the Trump administration would want to deport the people who help stock grocery shelves America would not be as great as it is now if all my workforce were taken away he explained Lawmakers he reported need to wake up and they need to do something And it requirements to be done rapidly before it s too late News reporter Carlos Rene Castro contributed to this story This summary is part of Upheaval Across America an examination of immigration enforcement under the second Trump administration produced by Carnegie-Knight News For more stories visit https upheaval news com