Unlike producers of wheat. corn. and other field grains. these farms are not large operations where mechanical harvesters can be used during peak harvest times. To the contrary. the vast majority of these fruits and vegetables must be harvested by hand. thereby requiring a large number of workers on very short notice. If S. 1200. in its present form. is effective in reducing the number of undocumented workers in this country. our farmers who grow perishable crops face a disconcerting choice. indeed. a destructive choice. They can either hire domestic workers if they are available and qualified. and historically they have not been. or. if they are not. their choice is to hire illegal. undocumented workers which. under the provisions of this legislaton. will subject them to the kind of penalties that threaten to drive them out of business. Or they can simply choose to lose their crop and go out of business. Mr. President. that is not an acceptable choice. not in this Nation. In my view. a wellconstructed immigration reform package should not force our growers to choose between hiring illegals or lose their crop or having to go out of business. especially at a time when American agriculture is reeling already from precipitate declines in land values. commodity prices. and export sales. Similarly. I do not believe that any U.S. Senator should be forced to vote for a law intended to address the critical national problem of illegal immigration at the expense of a significant segment of American agriculture and to the detriment of the hundreds of thousands of people throughout our land whose livelihood depends upon a workable program to ensure the timely harvest of perishable agriculture. Mr. President. at some time. probably within a month. but at some time later this fall. this body will take up any number of proposals that have to do with trade.
Keywords matched
undocumented immigration illegal immigration