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There's more to it than that. Agricultural work is seasonal labor. Americans want year round employment. Plus most unemployed Americans live in urban and suburban areas. Thus, unemployed people don't have reliable transportation to get to the farms. Even if they did, they well may discover that what they were paying to get to work (gas, vehicle maintenance) was eating up most of their take home pay.
All that said, it's a myth to say that no Americans do farm work. In the Heartland, high school kids often spend their summers doing such work.
Farmers have an agricultural visa program available to them that has no caps on it. Honest farmers who use this visa program, have no problems getting their crops picked. The ones who have problems are the sleazy farmers who refuse to use the visa and instead opt for cheap, exploitable, illegal labor. When crackdowns happen, it's the sleazy farmers who have problems---and I have no sympathy for them.
BTW, your remark about "white Americans working the fields" is bigoted.
Not true. We've had an ag labor shortage for years, even before Trump scared away willing workers. The farmers you're claiming are satisfied are the same ones complaining that they don't have enough workers, legal or otherwise. The work visa program is not being that need.
You know, the issue of illegal immigration isn't one that only conservatives care about.
I'm a liberal (and a legal immigrant, now a citizen), and I, too, want mass illegal immigration stopped. I add the term "mass" to that sentence, because I don't think we can ever stop it completely. There are just too many people hell-bent on entering illegally and too few people and other resources to put an end to it.
Yes, conservatives speak with forked tongue about this, but so do liberals: they want to allow people to illegally enter and remain in the country because they (rightfully) care about how the US treats people, and because they feel illegal immigrants are entitled to a better life.
Yet, 11 million+ illegal immigrants, with tens of thousands of others attempting to coming every month, absolutely DO suppress wages, which then affects the standards of living of many Americans.
Plus, as long as mass illegal immigration occurs, the US will never have universal healthcare, which every other advanced country DOES have. But what every other advanced country doesn't have is a continuous, uncontrollable stream of people illegally crossing their borders.
So, liberals can't have it both ways, either: you can either continue to allow hundreds of thousands of people to enter and staying the US, or we can (maybe) have nice things like universal healthcare. You can't have it both ways. No country can.
If the pandemic had done nothing else, it has shown the world that the US healthcare system allows too many decent, hardworking, tax-paying, law-abiding citizens to fall through the cracks and either be denied access to care or face financial ruin.
I’m closer to being a conservative, legal immigrant and now citizen. I agree 100%.
There’s no point pushing universal health care or other benefits until we control immigration and secure our borders.
Well, the wall is dead now. So give it a rest, buddy
Don't get too complacent. One of the things that Harris/Biden want to do is move Section 8 housing into suburban areas, even affluent ones. Once illegal aliens birth an anchor baby, said baby is eligible for all sorts of benefits. As a result, the whole family benefits. One of those benefits is Section 8 housing.
You live an insular life where you have no overcrowded flophouses in your area. It's easy to get smug living in an ivory tower. Well...don't be surprised when Section 8 housing comes to your area. After all, your idols, Harris/Biden want it, as do most of your fellow libs. I'm just sayin'
Not true. We've had an ag labor shortage for years, even before Trump scared away willing workers. The farmers you're claiming are satisfied are the same ones complaining that they don't have enough workers, legal or otherwise. The work visa program is not being that need.
Not true. There are plenty of people willing to come here using the agricultural visa program. What Trump did was scare away the illegals---and that's a good thing! The ones who come here on visas have nothing to fear.
Plus, with automation being used more and more, there will be no need for illegals to do the work.
Pay attention. I have a post that shows a raspberry harvesting machine. The excuse used to be that delicate produce needed to be hand harvested. That's no longer the case.
Not true. There are plenty of people willing to come here using the agricultural visa program. What Trump did was scare away the illegals---and that's a good thing! The ones who come here on visas have nothing to fear.
Plus, with automation being used more and more, there will be no need for illegals to do the work.
Pay attention. I have a post that shows a raspberry harvesting machine. The excuse used to be that delicate produce needed to be hand harvested. That's no longer the case.
Do some homework on this issue
Why do you guys insist on making up defenses when the facts are indisputable. We have an ag labor shortage.
Here's a gov't study on the labor shortage in the agriculture industry. Maybe you should learn to actually research your nonsense before spouting off about it, eh?
Fewer foreigners who want to apply to work in America + fewer Americans who want to work in fields = LABOR SHORTAGE
You obviously don't know anyone that owns a concrete, masonry or roofing business , do you ? They come here, learn the trade, start their business, and then do the jobs for half or less the price. All it does is just drive the wages down. How can one , not see this as a problem ?
We need E Verify. We need to stop the flow of illegals coming in , period. We need to get illegals we have here out. And we need to restrict and be more selective on whom we do let in.
Just go to any construction site. I spent half my working life in construction and am still in touch with friends that still do it. They tell me the trades (at least the non-union trades) are a dumpster fire now.
Just going off your logic for why you're opposed to both, you can't have it both ways.
You want to kick out illegal immigrants so that Americans can replace them and get paid better wages in the process...
But you're also opposed to increasing the cost of labor b/c that's going to accelerate the push to automate jobs...
So if replacing illegal immigrants w/ American workers ends up increasing the cost of labor... what exactly are you expecting employers to do about it?
You're wrong.
This is not a win-lose situation. it never will be until the day when there's a monopoly in ever primary sector of our economy.
The need for illegal immigrants could disappear tomorrow if there was a way to make the immigrants legal.
All the over-argued stuff still applies, but this fact remains:
For the past 40 years, there are several primary sectors of our economy that have depended on immigrants for labor. None of the immigrants, legal or illegal, ever interfered with a citizen's employment by the same company.
None of their low wages ever stopped the price of the goods they produced from rising to the level of union-made goods.
The cheapest goods we buy aren't ever made here. They all come from abroad.
Here's a gov't study on the labor shortage in the agriculture industry. Maybe you should learn to actually research your nonsense before spouting off about it, eh?
Fewer foreigners who want to apply to work in America + fewer Americans who want to work in fields = LABOR SHORTAGE
Are you denying that automation is making the need for cheap, exploitable, illegal labor obsolete?
If there is a "shortage" of labor, then there is no excuse for it, not when there are unlimited agricultural visas available. BTW, even your own link mentions that the shortage involves the fact that fewer illegals are coming here. Thus, it is a useless link.
And yet she almost certainly voted for Biden, who just gutted immigration enforcement and opened the flood gates.
well, perhaps to her, this isn't the #1 issue. It's certainly possible for moderate Dems - House or Senate - to hear from their constituents and vote against such foolishness.
Just going off your logic for why you're opposed to both, you can't have it both ways.
You want to kick out illegal immigrants so that Americans can replace them and get paid better wages in the process...
But you're also opposed to increasing the cost of labor b/c that's going to accelerate the push to automate jobs...
So if replacing illegal immigrants w/ American workers ends up increasing the cost of labor... what exactly are you expecting employers to do about it?
I think a course in logic could benefit you greatly.
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