US farmers worried over E-Verify Bill

United States, 21st September: US farmers seem to be anxious and worried over the impact of E-Verify bill pushed by Republicans.

The mandatory US E-Verify has already reached the House Judiciary Committee. Whether or not the Congress gives a green signal to this bill is another matter, however.

E-Verify-good for Americans, bad for undocumented immigrants--Republican Lamar Smith(R-Texas) among many Republicans justifies the bill saying it will cut jobs for undocumented immigrant workers while ensuring jobs for legal immigrants as well as Americans. Smith, who happens to the author of this bill, has the backing of around 62 members of the House of Representatives.

The E-Verify bill, if approved, will make it compulsory for all US farmers to verify their potential employees before hiring them using the E-Verify program.

Under this program, the eligibility of any individual is verified through databases of US DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and Social Security. The bill is, however, considered somewhat less controversial than other legislations for controlling undocumented immigration.

Hence, the chances of E-Verify gaining favor in the US Senate are quite high, considering the whopping rate of joblessness in the nation.

US farmers worried over E-Verify—The vegetable and fruit growers of Florida are panicked by the consequences of E-Verify becoming a law. They say their biggest concern is having sufficient farm hands to pick the crops and deliver them into the grocery stores.

According to the owner of Bedner Farm Fresh Market, Marie Bedner, Georgia is already seeing the disastrous results of introducing mandatory E-Verify. The crops are lying rotten in the fields due to shortage of labor, she added.

And if the same thing happens in Florida, it’s going to share the same fate as that of Georgia, warned two labor experts during 68th Annual meeting of Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association. Domestic farmers will be the worst sufferers in such a scenario, they added.

According to Adam Putnam, Agriculture Commissioner of Florida, labor happens to be the top issue for farmers in Florida. While addressing a meet of growers this week, he said the issue needs a serious consideration.

As of now, a total of 18 US states already have mandatory US E-Verify system. Georgia lost around 11,000 migrant workers due to the introduction of E-Verify.

And this should not happen in Florida which has around 65 percent undocumented immigrant workers in various agriculture jobs, said director of Florida Legal Services Migrant Farmworker Justice Project, Tallahassee.