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| WHO WILL DO MY JOB, WHITE MAN?! |
In 2023, state was nation’s sole producer of almonds, artichokes, figs, olives, pomegranates, raisins and walnuts
Cecilia Nowell
Cecilia Nowell
THE GUARDIAN
Mon 11 Nov 2024
Take a drive through the Salinas or Central valleys in California and you’ll pass from town to town advertising its specialty fruit or vegetable: strawberries in Watsonville, garlic in Gilroy, pistachios in Avenal and almonds in Ripon. More than 400 types of commodities are grown in the Golden state – including a third of the vegetables and three-quarters of the fruits and nuts produced in the United States.
Much of that food is grown by immigrant farm workers – many of whom are undocumented. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), about half of the country’s 2.4 million agricultural farm workers do not have legal status in the US. But farm worker advocates say the number is much higher in places like California, where it can be “as high as 70% in some areas”, according to Alexis Guild, vice-president of strategy and programs at Farmworker Justice, a non-profit based in Washington DC.
Donald Trump’s campaign promise to “launch the largest deportation program in American history” by targeting millions of undocumented immigrants could upend the lives of the majority of these agricultural workers who grow and harvest our food – which would dramatically hit California’s communities and economy, with ripple effects that would touch every table in the country.
“Without undocumented immigrant labor, we wouldn’t be able to sustain a food supply at the capacity that we have right now,” said Ana Padilla, executive director of the Community and Labor Center at the University of California at Merced.
Farm workers already perform dangerous and often underpaid labor. In the fields, they are vulnerable to pesticide exposure and workplace injuries doing work that is exempt from federal overtime laws. Trump and his allies have repeatedly said that undocumented immigrants have “taken” jobs from Black and Hispanic Americans, but farm worker advocates say these are not jobs US citizens are eager to hold.
“Rather than thinking about how immigrants ‘took’ jobs that existed, the historic wave of migration from Mexico that began in the 1970s is really a story of the growth of an industry and a very large and profitable one at that,” said Edward Flores, a sociologist and faculty director of the Community and Labor Center, who compares the size of California’s agricultural industry to Hollywood.
“The fact that there were so many people working in agriculture meant that the nation exported much more produce than it otherwise would have – that it opened up opportunities for people all along the supply chain.”
In 2023, California’s agricultural exports totaled more than $24.7bn, according to the USDA. The state was the nation’s sole producer of many specialty crops – including almonds, artichokes, figs, olives, pomegranates, raisins and walnuts – and the leading producer of other staples, such as lettuce and celery.
Proposed deportations would be absolutely devastating not just for immigrant households, but most American householdsEdward Flores, University of California at Merced
“Proposed deportations would be absolutely devastating not just for immigrant households, but most American households,” Flores said. “Mass deportations would disrupt the food chain at a time when inflation is one of workers’ most pressing concerns.” He added that such deportations would slow production and increase prices of many grocery store staples, including milk, wheat and eggs.
Without the undocumented immigrant workforce, the United States would probably import more of its food supply – making food prices vulnerable to fluctuations and to Trump’s proposed tariffs. (The United States currently imports about 15% of its food supply – including about a third of vegetables, half of its fruit and 94% of seafood.)
A mass deportation operation would face logistical and financial hurdles: a recent report from the American Immigration Council estimates that a one-time mass deportation would cost at least $315bn – so the real reason to threaten to deport undocumented farm workers, advocates and academics say, is to discourage immigrant laborers from organizing for better working conditions.
“There’s a contradiction in business owners who employ undocumented immigrants and at the same time support Trump and his proposal for the largest deportation initiative in US history,” said Flores. “Unless your aim is to have greater control over labor than ever before. Because under such a proposal, an employer could recruit a vulnerable workforce and then government would provide the means to get rid of them at will.”
An employer could recruit a vulnerable workforce and then government would provide the means to get rid of them at willEdward Flores, University of California at Merced
During his previous administration and the Covid-19 pandemic, Trump expedited H-2A visas for agricultural workers – but his allies have voiced disapproval of even legal immigration options for farm workers. The now infamous Project 2025, authored by former Trump administration officials, proposes capping and phasing down the H-2A visa program in order to “put American workers first”.
Farm worker advocates worry that other immigration and labor protections for farm workers, especially ones recently introduced by the Biden administration, are at risk. Republican-led states have sued the Biden administration over a rule allowing H-2A workers to unionize. And Padilla worries that the upcoming Trump administration would also challenge a Biden policy called Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement, which protects undocumented immigrants from deportation when reporting labor violations.
“These types of programs are essential – especially in certain industries like meat packing, agriculture, construction, food service – to report employer noncompliance, unsafe conditions, so [farm workers] could feel protected in doing that,” she said.
“Most undocumented farm workers in California and across the country have been here for at least 10 years,” said Antonio De Loera-Brus, communications director for the United Farm Workers of America. This means “they’ve lived through a Trump presidency before”, he added.
Although many farm workers are anxious about another Trump administration, he said, “what we need to do is reassure communities that they will not be left alone, that they will not be abandoned” and “this union is your union, and your union will always stick up for you”.
Last week, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, called for a special session of the state’s legislature “to protect California values” including “civil rights, reproductive freedom, climate action and immigrant families”. In 2018, California became the first “sanctuary state” in the nation when its legislature enacted a law limiting local and state officials from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
“Farm workers of all immigration statuses are going to continue feeding America just like they have every day,” said De Loera-Brus. “And they don’t care if the food they’re picking is going to end up on a Democrat or Republican table. They just want to be paid fairly and treated with dignity for their literally essential work. And then they want to go home safely to their families.”
Take a drive through the Salinas or Central valleys in California and you’ll pass from town to town advertising its specialty fruit or vegetable: strawberries in Watsonville, garlic in Gilroy, pistachios in Avenal and almonds in Ripon. More than 400 types of commodities are grown in the Golden state – including a third of the vegetables and three-quarters of the fruits and nuts produced in the United States.
Much of that food is grown by immigrant farm workers – many of whom are undocumented. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), about half of the country’s 2.4 million agricultural farm workers do not have legal status in the US. But farm worker advocates say the number is much higher in places like California, where it can be “as high as 70% in some areas”, according to Alexis Guild, vice-president of strategy and programs at Farmworker Justice, a non-profit based in Washington DC.
Donald Trump’s campaign promise to “launch the largest deportation program in American history” by targeting millions of undocumented immigrants could upend the lives of the majority of these agricultural workers who grow and harvest our food – which would dramatically hit California’s communities and economy, with ripple effects that would touch every table in the country.
“Without undocumented immigrant labor, we wouldn’t be able to sustain a food supply at the capacity that we have right now,” said Ana Padilla, executive director of the Community and Labor Center at the University of California at Merced.
Farm workers already perform dangerous and often underpaid labor. In the fields, they are vulnerable to pesticide exposure and workplace injuries doing work that is exempt from federal overtime laws. Trump and his allies have repeatedly said that undocumented immigrants have “taken” jobs from Black and Hispanic Americans, but farm worker advocates say these are not jobs US citizens are eager to hold.
“Rather than thinking about how immigrants ‘took’ jobs that existed, the historic wave of migration from Mexico that began in the 1970s is really a story of the growth of an industry and a very large and profitable one at that,” said Edward Flores, a sociologist and faculty director of the Community and Labor Center, who compares the size of California’s agricultural industry to Hollywood.
“The fact that there were so many people working in agriculture meant that the nation exported much more produce than it otherwise would have – that it opened up opportunities for people all along the supply chain.”
In 2023, California’s agricultural exports totaled more than $24.7bn, according to the USDA. The state was the nation’s sole producer of many specialty crops – including almonds, artichokes, figs, olives, pomegranates, raisins and walnuts – and the leading producer of other staples, such as lettuce and celery.
Proposed deportations would be absolutely devastating not just for immigrant households, but most American householdsEdward Flores, University of California at Merced
“Proposed deportations would be absolutely devastating not just for immigrant households, but most American households,” Flores said. “Mass deportations would disrupt the food chain at a time when inflation is one of workers’ most pressing concerns.” He added that such deportations would slow production and increase prices of many grocery store staples, including milk, wheat and eggs.
Without the undocumented immigrant workforce, the United States would probably import more of its food supply – making food prices vulnerable to fluctuations and to Trump’s proposed tariffs. (The United States currently imports about 15% of its food supply – including about a third of vegetables, half of its fruit and 94% of seafood.)
A mass deportation operation would face logistical and financial hurdles: a recent report from the American Immigration Council estimates that a one-time mass deportation would cost at least $315bn – so the real reason to threaten to deport undocumented farm workers, advocates and academics say, is to discourage immigrant laborers from organizing for better working conditions.
“There’s a contradiction in business owners who employ undocumented immigrants and at the same time support Trump and his proposal for the largest deportation initiative in US history,” said Flores. “Unless your aim is to have greater control over labor than ever before. Because under such a proposal, an employer could recruit a vulnerable workforce and then government would provide the means to get rid of them at will.”
An employer could recruit a vulnerable workforce and then government would provide the means to get rid of them at willEdward Flores, University of California at Merced
During his previous administration and the Covid-19 pandemic, Trump expedited H-2A visas for agricultural workers – but his allies have voiced disapproval of even legal immigration options for farm workers. The now infamous Project 2025, authored by former Trump administration officials, proposes capping and phasing down the H-2A visa program in order to “put American workers first”.
Farm worker advocates worry that other immigration and labor protections for farm workers, especially ones recently introduced by the Biden administration, are at risk. Republican-led states have sued the Biden administration over a rule allowing H-2A workers to unionize. And Padilla worries that the upcoming Trump administration would also challenge a Biden policy called Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement, which protects undocumented immigrants from deportation when reporting labor violations.
“These types of programs are essential – especially in certain industries like meat packing, agriculture, construction, food service – to report employer noncompliance, unsafe conditions, so [farm workers] could feel protected in doing that,” she said.
“Most undocumented farm workers in California and across the country have been here for at least 10 years,” said Antonio De Loera-Brus, communications director for the United Farm Workers of America. This means “they’ve lived through a Trump presidency before”, he added.
Although many farm workers are anxious about another Trump administration, he said, “what we need to do is reassure communities that they will not be left alone, that they will not be abandoned” and “this union is your union, and your union will always stick up for you”.
Last week, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, called for a special session of the state’s legislature “to protect California values” including “civil rights, reproductive freedom, climate action and immigrant families”. In 2018, California became the first “sanctuary state” in the nation when its legislature enacted a law limiting local and state officials from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
“Farm workers of all immigration statuses are going to continue feeding America just like they have every day,” said De Loera-Brus. “And they don’t care if the food they’re picking is going to end up on a Democrat or Republican table. They just want to be paid fairly and treated with dignity for their literally essential work. And then they want to go home safely to their families.”
Trump’s mass deportations will raise grocery prices even higher: Nobel-winning economist
Erik De La Garza
November 11, 2024
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump reacts as a scoreboard in the background displays "Trump 45" and "Trump 47", referring to Trump as the nation's 45th president and his bid to become the 47th president, during a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. October 22, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to institute across-the-board tariffs and mass deportation of undocumented immigrants will likely usher in the unintended consequence of “soaring inflation,” according to a Noble Prize-winning economist, who added that grocery and housing prices will specifically be affected.
American consumers feeling the grocery store pinch are not likely to see any relief if Trump follows through on his threats of deporting en masse immigrants, a group that New York Times columnist Paul Krugman added make up a large segment of the agricultural workforce.
“If these workers are deporte, the food industry will probably have great difficulty replacing them,” Krugman wrote Monday, noting that undocumented immigrants also play a major part in food processing. “Even in the best case, the industry will have to offer much higher wages — and, of course, these higher wages will be passed on in higher prices.”
Erik De La Garza
November 11, 2024
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump reacts as a scoreboard in the background displays "Trump 45" and "Trump 47", referring to Trump as the nation's 45th president and his bid to become the 47th president, during a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. October 22, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to institute across-the-board tariffs and mass deportation of undocumented immigrants will likely usher in the unintended consequence of “soaring inflation,” according to a Noble Prize-winning economist, who added that grocery and housing prices will specifically be affected.
American consumers feeling the grocery store pinch are not likely to see any relief if Trump follows through on his threats of deporting en masse immigrants, a group that New York Times columnist Paul Krugman added make up a large segment of the agricultural workforce.
“If these workers are deporte, the food industry will probably have great difficulty replacing them,” Krugman wrote Monday, noting that undocumented immigrants also play a major part in food processing. “Even in the best case, the industry will have to offer much higher wages — and, of course, these higher wages will be passed on in higher prices.”
The longtime columnist continued his bleak assessment of the “downstream economic effects” of two of Trump’s major campaign pledges – sweeping tariffs and mass deportations – by writing that housing would also take a hit.
“What will Trump do if inflation rises? Bear in mind that his campaign was replete with false claims — about immigration, jobs, inflation, crime and more. And one of his go-to tactics for dismissing data that shows his claims are false is to insist that the data is fake,” Krugman wrote.
He added that consumers shouldn't expect Trump to acknowledge the “inflationary consequences” of his policies, noting that it’s “far likelier" that the former president will “deny reality or blame bad actors and try to order prices back down again.”
Krugman concluded by writing that while his concern about the threat Trump poses to democracy is greater than inflation worries, the nation’s future will depend greatly on how Americans, including those who voted for Trump, will react “if they come to find that they bought into a false belief in Trump’s ability to manage the economy.”
“What will Trump do if inflation rises? Bear in mind that his campaign was replete with false claims — about immigration, jobs, inflation, crime and more. And one of his go-to tactics for dismissing data that shows his claims are false is to insist that the data is fake,” Krugman wrote.
He added that consumers shouldn't expect Trump to acknowledge the “inflationary consequences” of his policies, noting that it’s “far likelier" that the former president will “deny reality or blame bad actors and try to order prices back down again.”
Krugman concluded by writing that while his concern about the threat Trump poses to democracy is greater than inflation worries, the nation’s future will depend greatly on how Americans, including those who voted for Trump, will react “if they come to find that they bought into a false belief in Trump’s ability to manage the economy.”
Trump's ex-DHS head cornered on massive impact of deporting '5 percent of the workforce'
Matthew Chapman
Matthew Chapman
RAW STORY
November 11, 2024
Former Trump acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf. (AFP)
CNN's Jake Tapper cornered Donald Trump's one-time acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf on how the president-elect's plans for mass deportation — which could cost massive amounts of money and require the deployment of the military — would actually work, and how the administration would avoid catastrophic economic damage.
Tapper began by noting that a huge amount of the workforce would meet Trump's apparent standard for deportation.
"What happens to the economy if 5 percent of the workforce is deported?" he asked
"Again, you've got to prioritize the removals ... making sure you're removing the worst of the worst," said Wolf. "But this idea that you've got to turn your head and just exempt people from the law or from consequences of the law, deportation and the like, because they have a job here in the United States — we certainly need to take a look at that, but there are other ways and other mechanisms and, certainly, other visas that allow individuals to come in and to contribute to the U.S. economy. If the Congress wants do more, that's a debate they should have. But to simply say that we're going to turn our head and just ignore the fact that the law's being broken, I don't think right approach."
"Are Trump transition team members talking to Republican lawmakers to figure out how Trump will fund this plan?" asked Tapper.
"Well, I'll let the transition team speak for itself," said Wolf, adding that he "would suspect" they are.
"I think that's really important because it's not only just a change in policy, which obviously the president can do, but obviously there's going to be some resources required to make sure that those policies are implemented in a way that's smart and consistent and that's sustainable over the long term," he said.
"What about the impact — again, I'm not arguing in favor, pro or con against any of this," Tapper pressed him. "But what about — say there is an undocumented gentleman and he's married to an American citizen and they have children. Does he get deported? What if both parents are undocumented, but the kid was born in this country? Do all three get deported? Is somebody gaming out all of these different permutations of the various statuses of these people?"
"Well, Jake, I'm not going to get into hypotheticals because the background of all these individuals really, really matter," he said, but repeated, "You go back to the prioritization of removing the worst of the worst first."
November 11, 2024
Former Trump acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf. (AFP)
CNN's Jake Tapper cornered Donald Trump's one-time acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf on how the president-elect's plans for mass deportation — which could cost massive amounts of money and require the deployment of the military — would actually work, and how the administration would avoid catastrophic economic damage.
Tapper began by noting that a huge amount of the workforce would meet Trump's apparent standard for deportation.
"What happens to the economy if 5 percent of the workforce is deported?" he asked
"Again, you've got to prioritize the removals ... making sure you're removing the worst of the worst," said Wolf. "But this idea that you've got to turn your head and just exempt people from the law or from consequences of the law, deportation and the like, because they have a job here in the United States — we certainly need to take a look at that, but there are other ways and other mechanisms and, certainly, other visas that allow individuals to come in and to contribute to the U.S. economy. If the Congress wants do more, that's a debate they should have. But to simply say that we're going to turn our head and just ignore the fact that the law's being broken, I don't think right approach."
"Are Trump transition team members talking to Republican lawmakers to figure out how Trump will fund this plan?" asked Tapper.
"Well, I'll let the transition team speak for itself," said Wolf, adding that he "would suspect" they are.
"I think that's really important because it's not only just a change in policy, which obviously the president can do, but obviously there's going to be some resources required to make sure that those policies are implemented in a way that's smart and consistent and that's sustainable over the long term," he said.
"What about the impact — again, I'm not arguing in favor, pro or con against any of this," Tapper pressed him. "But what about — say there is an undocumented gentleman and he's married to an American citizen and they have children. Does he get deported? What if both parents are undocumented, but the kid was born in this country? Do all three get deported? Is somebody gaming out all of these different permutations of the various statuses of these people?"
"Well, Jake, I'm not going to get into hypotheticals because the background of all these individuals really, really matter," he said, but repeated, "You go back to the prioritization of removing the worst of the worst first."
Watch the video below or at the link here.
- YouTubeyoutu.be
A COUPLE OF ARYAN NATIONALISTS
Indian-origin Ramaswamy backs Trump's mass deportation plans
Indian-origin Ramaswamy backs Trump's mass deportation plans
Updated At : Nov 11, 2024
Photo: @VivekGRamaswamy/X
Vivek Ramaswamy, top Indian-American aide to President-elect Donald Trump, expressed his support for the mass deportation plan of illegal immigrants and said that the legal immigration system in the country is "broken".
He said that those who broke the law while entering the United States have no right to stay here and they need to go.
"Do we have a broken legal immigration system? Yes, we do. But I think the first step is going to be to restore the rule of law, to do it in a very pragmatic way,” entrepreneur turned-politician told ABC News in an interview.
“Those who have entered in the last couple of years, they haven't established roots in the country. Those who have committed a crime, should be out of this country. That is by the millions. That alone would be the largest mass deportation. Combine that with ending government aid for all illegals. You see self-deportations,” he said.
Ramaswamy appeared on multiple Sunday talk shows, the first after the stunning win of Donald Trump in the November 5 presidential elections. He told ABC News that he is having some “high impact” discussions on his future role in the administration, Congress of the party.
From being a rival of Trump during the Republican primaries, Ramaswamy has emerged as a staunch supporter and confidant of Trump.
“I think he cares about uniting the country. I think that is Donald Trump's number one focus. I do think we have to get back to a place after this election after that decisive victory, which I do think was a gift to the country, get back to a place where ordinary Americans who might have voted differently amongst their family members or their colleagues or their neighbours, to be able to get together at the dinner table and say, we're still Americans at the end of this, that's very much Donald Trump's headspace,” he said.
“He's also learned a lot from that first term, and I think he's going into this second term even to take to new heights some of the things he wasn't able to accomplish in the first term, which I think is going to be a good thing,” Ramaswamy said.
The Republican Party, he said, is now a multi-ethnic working-class coalition. “You saw black voters, Hispanic voters, young voters. That was a big one. A much younger composition of the Republican primary base came together on basic principles that really weren't as beholden to older Republican orthodoxies, but principles like free speech, anti-censorship, meritocracy, and staying out of World War III. These are some of the common threads that bring together what is a pretty diverse and broad tent coalition to restore those basic constitutional principles,” he said.
“Here's a big one. And Donald Trump talked for a long time about the deep state. But this idea of restoring self-governance is big in this new coalition. The idea that the people we elect to run the government, they haven't been the ones actually running the government for a very long time," Ramaswamy said.
"Donald Trump is going to be the president of the United States in the real sense of that word. Capital P president where he is actually making the decisions with the democratic will of the people behind him, not the unelected bureaucratic class underneath him,” the Indian American said.
“That's something that unites a common thread of even former Democrats to independents, to libertarians, to, of course, traditional Republicans as well. I think that that's a common thread that unites us,” he said.
Trump, he said, is focused on what makes people's lives better. “And actually, my message to Democrats out there, even those who didn't vote for Donald Trump, is to give them a chance to actually make your life better. A lot of people across the country, even those who have bought into some false narratives about Donald Trump, are going to be pleasantly surprised to find more money in their paychecks, prices coming down in the country, and a secure border. Those are things most Americans actually care about,” Ramaswamy said.
Photo: @VivekGRamaswamy/X
Vivek Ramaswamy, top Indian-American aide to President-elect Donald Trump, expressed his support for the mass deportation plan of illegal immigrants and said that the legal immigration system in the country is "broken".
He said that those who broke the law while entering the United States have no right to stay here and they need to go.
"Do we have a broken legal immigration system? Yes, we do. But I think the first step is going to be to restore the rule of law, to do it in a very pragmatic way,” entrepreneur turned-politician told ABC News in an interview.
“Those who have entered in the last couple of years, they haven't established roots in the country. Those who have committed a crime, should be out of this country. That is by the millions. That alone would be the largest mass deportation. Combine that with ending government aid for all illegals. You see self-deportations,” he said.
Ramaswamy appeared on multiple Sunday talk shows, the first after the stunning win of Donald Trump in the November 5 presidential elections. He told ABC News that he is having some “high impact” discussions on his future role in the administration, Congress of the party.
From being a rival of Trump during the Republican primaries, Ramaswamy has emerged as a staunch supporter and confidant of Trump.
“I think he cares about uniting the country. I think that is Donald Trump's number one focus. I do think we have to get back to a place after this election after that decisive victory, which I do think was a gift to the country, get back to a place where ordinary Americans who might have voted differently amongst their family members or their colleagues or their neighbours, to be able to get together at the dinner table and say, we're still Americans at the end of this, that's very much Donald Trump's headspace,” he said.
“He's also learned a lot from that first term, and I think he's going into this second term even to take to new heights some of the things he wasn't able to accomplish in the first term, which I think is going to be a good thing,” Ramaswamy said.
The Republican Party, he said, is now a multi-ethnic working-class coalition. “You saw black voters, Hispanic voters, young voters. That was a big one. A much younger composition of the Republican primary base came together on basic principles that really weren't as beholden to older Republican orthodoxies, but principles like free speech, anti-censorship, meritocracy, and staying out of World War III. These are some of the common threads that bring together what is a pretty diverse and broad tent coalition to restore those basic constitutional principles,” he said.
“Here's a big one. And Donald Trump talked for a long time about the deep state. But this idea of restoring self-governance is big in this new coalition. The idea that the people we elect to run the government, they haven't been the ones actually running the government for a very long time," Ramaswamy said.
"Donald Trump is going to be the president of the United States in the real sense of that word. Capital P president where he is actually making the decisions with the democratic will of the people behind him, not the unelected bureaucratic class underneath him,” the Indian American said.
“That's something that unites a common thread of even former Democrats to independents, to libertarians, to, of course, traditional Republicans as well. I think that that's a common thread that unites us,” he said.
Trump, he said, is focused on what makes people's lives better. “And actually, my message to Democrats out there, even those who didn't vote for Donald Trump, is to give them a chance to actually make your life better. A lot of people across the country, even those who have bought into some false narratives about Donald Trump, are going to be pleasantly surprised to find more money in their paychecks, prices coming down in the country, and a secure border. Those are things most Americans actually care about,” Ramaswamy said.
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