NPR

Mass deportations concern ranch, farm and processing industries

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the Trump administration moving forward on its promise of mass deportations, members of the livestock and agriculture industries have rising concerns about the disruption and financial impact that would put on producers and consumers.

In several news appearances, Tom Holman, director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the raids are focused on public service threats and criminals, but anyone who is in the country illegally is “on the table.” Many essential industries, including in the livestock and agriculture sectors depend on foreign-born workers and want to make sure they have access to a workforce vital to the production of food in the U.S.

“U.S. agriculture must have access to a reliable, legal labor force to ensure agricultural products reach consumers in a timely manner,” say Matt Teagarden, CEO of the Kansas Livestock Association. “Labor is a critical issue for livestock producers and agriculture as a whole.”

Teagarden noted Kansas’ unemployment rate is 3.5%. In southwest Kansas, where most of the feedyards, dairies and processing facilities are located, the unemployment rate is about 2.5%. He says there is not enough slack in the system at that level to fill those jobs.

“We need to secure our borders while simultaneously offering guest worker programs that meet the needs of the livestock industry,” he says. “Violent criminals should be deported, but we also need legal pathways for the hard-working, law-abiding tax-paying immigrant workers who are so critical to many important industries. There is a choice here to be made. We can import workers and continue to produce our food here in the United States, or we can import food. We recognize that food security is a national security issue.”

When the packing plant workforce was reduced due to COVID-19, a study showed the economic impact on cattle production was estimated in the billions. While there are no hard numbers at present, there is a correlation showing a large disruption in the workforce now would also cause economic impacts, Teagarden says.

Teagarden explains legislation is needed to positively affect the livestock sector. Previous legislation called the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, attempted to provide an opportunity for legal status for agricultural workers who have been in agriculture. Congress has yet to pass a bill that would provide a permanent solution, but members of several essential industries are in favor of reintroducing bi-partisan legislation to address the issue.

“Our goal is legal workers, not necessarily citizenship for all immigrants as not all immigrants seek citizenship in the U.S.,” Teagarden says. “Many of those workers just want legal work status.”

The H2A program provides temporary visas for seasonal work, but the program is limited and not applicable for dairies and feedyards due to the nature of the work with cattle that need fed and/or milked every day.

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