This November farmers and ranchers will have the opportunity to vote for the next President of the United States. Donald Trump has vowed to build a “big beautiful wall” at the border and to deport millions of illegal immigrants. Hillary Clinton has promised to introduce comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
Many farmers and ranchers argue that Trump’s plan to deport millions of illegal immigrants jeopardizes their livelihood. According to the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives agriculture in the United States faces a “critical shortage” of workers every year. U.S. citizens are largely unwilling to accept rigorous and physically demanding jobs on the farm. In addition, H-2A guestworker programs are cumbersome and slow. The NCFC supports legislative reform that “includes both a program to provide access to legal workforce into the future and an adjustment for current experienced, unauthorized agricultural workers.”
The American Farm Bureau Federation also recognizes the farm labor shortage and advocates for the new work visa program and allowing current illegal agricultural workers “the ability to stay in the U.S. and continue to work in the agricultural sector.”
In November, 2014 President Obama attempted to address the immigration problems with a series of executive actions. Lawsuits were filed by a number of states challenging implementation of the executive actions. A U.S. District Judge blocked implementation of the executive actions on procedural grounds. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the injunction. On June 23, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 4-4 decision which left in place the injunction and denied implementation of the President’s executive actions.
The issues of immigration will be largely decided in our next election with the selection of our next President of the United States and Congress. Your vote counts, and will help determine the future of agriculture.
