Immigration raids leave crops unharvested, California farms at risk
Source: Reuters
Lisa Tate is a sixth-generation farmer in Ventura County, California, an area that produces billions of dollars worth of fruit and vegetables each year, much of it hand-picked by immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
Tate knows the farms around her well. And she says she can see with her own eyes how raids carried out by agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the area’s fields earlier this month, part of President Donald Trump’s migration crackdown, have frightened off workers.
“In the fields, I would say 70% of the workers are gone,” she said in an interview. “If 70% of your workforce doesn’t show up, 70% of your crop doesn’t get picked and can go bad in one day. Most Americans don’t want to do this work. Most farmers here are barely breaking even. I fear this has created a tipping point where many will go bust.”
In the vast agricultural lands north of Los Angeles, stretching from Ventura County into the state’s central valley, two farmers, two field supervisors and four immigrant farmworkers told Reuters this month that the ICE raids have led a majority of workers to stop showing up.
That means crops are not being picked and fruit and vegetables are rotting at peak harvest time, they said.
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I think a good number of them figure it will take until Thanksgiving/Christmas before America is great again. At that point, they will extend their grace period to next year, & then beyond, & beyond again. Cult behavior. I absolutely cannot believe I have family who still think Trump & repubs are the only way to go. WTF? 
Hire republicans who now get their jobs back.
How long before we see bread lines and empty shelves? Oh, wait, we did see that during his first term.
The monied elite and corporate America are getting what they paid for and the rubes and racists of America are getting what they voted for. But most of America will suffer the consequence. This is what happens when you put a guy in charge of reinventing the wheel, when he can't even figure out you can't put a square peg into the round hole. But, he's a genius.
Our Country wasn't perfect but it was good while it lasted.
