By Blake Jackson
New York’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Richard Ball, is calling for reform in the federal guest worker program as immigration raids threaten the stability of the U.S. farm labour force. Ball, who also runs a farm in Schoharie County, believes the country is at a turning point.
Across the nation, around 70% of farm workers are foreign-born. Immigration enforcement actions, including recent raids on farms, have raised fears among producers about losing essential workers. One recent case involved the detention of a mother and her two children at a farm in northern New York, which drew public outcry and resulted in their release. Still, farms remain under pressure.
Ball stresses the urgency of a legal and functioning guest worker system that supports agriculture without fear or disruption. “We need a working guest worker program,” said Ball. "We need a legal workforce here in the United States.”
The current system, known as the H-2A program, has not been updated since the 1980s. Past efforts under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama to revise it failed. Ball argues that continual delays in fixing the system are no longer acceptable.
“We were built by migrants,” said Ball. “The Statue of Liberty, and on and on. It’s a strength for the country as a whole and now we have another generational opportunity here and we just have to buckle down, get away from the platitudes, stop kicking it down the road and deal with a working Guest Worker program for that next generation of people.”
Agriculture commissioners from other states are also joining the call to push for a reformed guest worker plan that can serve future generations. Ball believes this is a critical moment to act.
With bipartisan support and a clear need, there is hope that long-overdue updates will soon support both farmers and workers alike.
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Categories: New York, Business