MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Many farmers say that without immigration reform, they’ll be facing a labor shortage.
Farmers say most Americans shy away from jobs such as cutting cabbage because the work is seasonal, physically tough, out in the elements and often in remote areas.
They want the federal government to make it easier for them to get qualified, legal foreign workers. That includes passing an “AgJobs” bill enabling farm workers to get some kind of legal status and simplifying a visa program for temporary workers.
The Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates tougher immigration laws, thinks the problem is farmers are addicted to cheap, foreign labor and haven’t been forced to raise wages.
