“In 2023, most Americans were spending $438 per month on groceries that five years ago cost them $335. If experts on Pennsylvania farming are to be believed, consumers need to brace themselves for prices to continue to rise. The reason is not just the global avian flu pandemic. It’s the federal government’s immigration policies. . . .
“Given the ongoing ICE raids happening throughout the state, as well as the overall labor shortage in that sector, farmers are right to worry. Many are already feeling the effects of the federal government’s immigration crackdowns. So are restaurants and the shopping public. Flour is more expensive. Dog food is more expensive. Vegetables are more expensive.
“According to the American Immigration Council, Pennsylvania is home to approximately 155,000 undocumented immigrants, with 20 percent specifically employed in agriculture. But those 30,000 make up half the workforce who pick our produce, process our poultry and enable our thriving dairy industry.
“The H-2A visa program, which is designed to allow farmers to fill temporary jobs with foreign workers (like coming to pick apples for a few weeks), should create enough avenues to employ folks who want to perform the tough duties of farm work. But the numbers don’t bear that out. . . .
“We must all acknowledge the important work undocumented immigrants have done for us, even as we acknowledge the illegality of working in the United States without permission. But the work won’t disappear or lessen, and our agriculture deserves a solution that benefits us all.” — The Immigrants May Go, But the Work Won’t, Curtis County Chronicle 2/15/24 [Link]
Fact Check of Above Quote: This editorial claims that we’re experiencing high food prices because of the Trump Administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. And just how can that be when Trump has been in office for little more than a month? Despite his fast start, he has barely begun to make a serious dent in the number of illegal aliens in the U.S. Most interestingly, the article notes that food prices have been going up since 2023. That was when illegal immigration under Joe Biden was hitting record levels. Surely it couldn’t have been a lack of illegal workers which caused food prices to start rising back then.
The editorial suggests that immigration law enforcement in general is a bad thing because of its effect on illegal farm workers. Even so, it concedes that only 20 percent of the illegals in Pennsylvania are in agriculture. Thus, it would be possible to deport eighty percent of them without affecting food prices at all. Furthermore, the figure of 20 percent may not even be accurate, as it seems inconsistent with studies showing that nationwide only about five percent of illegal aliens are farmworkers.
To the extent that we are depending on illegals for agriculture, it’s time to envision a strategy to end this dependency. One way is to minimize the drudgery of farm work. Recent technical advances have made this a real possibility. Unfortunately, farmers lack incentive to mechanize as long as they have easy access to illegal workers.
To help give them incentive, our government could end illegal immigration, while revamping the H-2A visa to provide farmers with legal workers. This latter provision, however, would be temporary with the expectation that they will move toward mechanization. The government might offer them tax credits for doing so.
Reliance on illegal aliens for agriculture is an unending vicious cycle. Typically, illegals will leave the fields for other jobs when they get the opportunity. This invites more to come, and on and on it goes.
Agriculture has made great strides in technology and efficiency over the years. As advances continue, we should hasten the end of low-paying labor-intensive toil in the fields.