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The New Group Crying Foul Over Immigrant Farmers

The New Group Crying Foul Over Immigrant Farmers
Maxwell Strachan
By 

Senior Reporter, HuffPost

WELLINGTON, CO - OCTOBER 11: Mexican migrant workers pick organic spinach during the fall harvest at Grant Family Farms on October 11, 2011 in Wellington, Colorado. Although demand for the farm's organic produce is high, Andy Grant said that his migrant labor force, mostly from Mexico, is sharply down this year and that he'll be unable to harvest up to a third of his fall crops, leaving vegetables in the fields to rot. He said that stricter U.S. immigration policies nationwide have created a 'climate of fear' in the immigrant community and many workers have either gone back to Mexico or have been deported. Although Grant requires proof of legal immigration status from his employees, undocumented migrant workers can easily obtain falsified permits in order to work throughout the U.S. Many farmers nationwide say they have found it nearly impossible to hire American citizens for seasonal labor-intensive farm work. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
WELLINGTON, CO - OCTOBER 11: Mexican migrant workers pick organic spinach during the fall harvest at Grant Family Farms on October 11, 2011 in Wellington, Colorado. Although demand for the farm's organic produce is high, Andy Grant said that his migrant labor force, mostly from Mexico, is sharply down this year and that he'll be unable to harvest up to a third of his fall crops, leaving vegetables in the fields to rot. He said that stricter U.S. immigration policies nationwide have created a 'climate of fear' in the immigrant community and many workers have either gone back to Mexico or have been deported. Although Grant requires proof of legal immigration status from his employees, undocumented migrant workers can easily obtain falsified permits in order to work throughout the U.S. Many farmers nationwide say they have found it nearly impossible to hire American citizens for seasonal labor-intensive farm work. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

VIDALIA, Ga. -- For years, labor unions and immigrant rights activists have accused large-scale farmers, like those harvesting sweet Vidalia onions here this month, of exploiting Mexican guest workers. Working for hours on end under a punishing sun, the pickers are said to be crowded into squalid camps, driven without a break and even cheated of wages.

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