Farmworkers: A Policy Memo, Essay Example

Since the start of World War II, fewer and fewer Americans have been willing to engage in the harvesting of crops on a regular basis. This has necessitated the importation of guest workers principally from Mexico or the hiring of that country’s illegal immigrants to the U.S. So the farmworker problem is also an immigration problem. We assume that the overarching goal of any farmworker law is the lowest practically obtainable prices for the best quality food harvested with the fewest persons in the U.S. illegally. That last goal became mandatory after 9-11.

With this in mind, we propose the following policy positions. However, we realize that by definition and in reality, only Congressionally passed laws include the policy proposals which best balance the interests of all the parties involved as much as possible. Congress is the arena where consensus is forged. However, proposals must be seen by Congress to achieve consensus. Our goal is to spark a new, true consensus among our readers, but our proposals will be seen by some as only polemical and perhaps absurd. They may be as painful as the labor shortage itself.

• Going forward we should not phase out wage-controls, both in the field or anywhere else. Prices are fundamental to the allocation of resources, and for prices to work they must be based on market forces, not political ones. However, market-based wages run counter to American labor unions, who fear that the farmworker shortage will lead to higher wages, thus attracting more migrants. Their rising numbers will then lead to a decline in wages paid to Americans in related areas of employment, such as construction. This ebb and flow is the essence of a free market, but unions are concerned with job preservation, not creation.
• Despite increased funding, Customs and Border Protection should not be held responsible for the deaths of migrants crossing rural high-trafficked areas not blocked by fencing.
• Statutes or rulings by government agencies may require America to import some foods that it formerly grew domestically. (This would likely happen when new laws compelled agribusinesses to relocate to other countries with less restrictive laws.)
• Statutes or rulings by government agencies may prevent growers from exporting some foods that they grow domestically. (This law might also apply to exported foods that require a large harvesting or processing force of illegal migrant labor.)
• The three-year visa terms under the proposed Blue Card program should not be shortened to reflect new economic conditions; and the requirement that migrant workers spend three months outside the U.S. may be extended unilaterally by the president but not shortened.
• The proposed $400 fine under the Blue Card program shall be indexed to inflation, but not deflation. The purpose is to put into law a default prejudice against illegal immigration.
• Agricultural employment applicants who fail E-verify may be subject to questioning onsite by appropriate personnel. There need be no additional evidence of criminal conduct.
• The Congressional Finding stating “We have always welcomed newcomers to the United States and will continue to do so” shall not be amended to “We have not always welcomed newcomers to the United States and may resume the future use of quotas.”

As noted above, many reading these proposals may suspect that they are simply provocations. They are not. They are a recognition of the seriousness of the farm labor shortage. Yet we think that most American citizens will still agree with at least some of the above stateme