Immigration reform remains one of the hottest topics in politics and a major priority for ranchers and farmers. Mark Delich, from FWD.us and Tom Hertz, from the Agriculture Department, attended a session of the 2017 Annual Convention & IDEAg Trade Show, to talk about the political and economic reality of the existing immigration system in the US, and the effect of possible reforms.
USDA Economic Research Service economist, Tom Hertz, says the farm workforce is experiencing rising labor costs and declining immigration rates, resulting in an increased demand for workers, despite wages being up. Hertz pointed to a recent report from USDA, which looked at the impact of an expansion of the H2A program, compared to an increase in border security.
USDA says that expanding the program over the long term would result in a rise in the number of outputs and exports and increase the farming workforce. USDA also say that an approach focused only on enforcement would see a massive reduction in both the agriculture output and the workforce, resulting in both farmers and workers being hurt.
Hertz points out that the USDA study is not intended to advocate for any particular policy approach but just to look at the possible long-term effects of several of the current leading proposals. Delich says that there is more to repairing the broken immigration system than just border security. Agriculture also needs balanced immigration reform to address the legal status of undocumented workers and the worker US visa program.