Kansas agriculture interests want feds to OK program to place illegal immigrants in jobs

Kansas Agriculture Secretary Dale Rodman, right, wants the federal government to start a pilot program that would connect undocumented immigrants who have been in the state for five years with agricultural employers who Rodman says are struggling to find workers. "You've got to listen to your customers," Rodman told Tim Carpenter of The Capital-Journal in Topeka.

The federal Department of Homeland Security "hasn't signaled approval," Carpenter writes, but "Those officials haven't closed the door either." He adds, "A powerful coalition of business interests is preparing to tackle the issue in Topeka," including the state Chamber of Commerce and Farm Bureau.

"This is the same coalition that contributed in the 2011 session to blocking a version of the controversial Arizona immigration measure compelling  police officers to detain individuals they think might be undocumented," Carpenter notes. "The plan is to reach out to experienced, committed workers with no criminal background. A likely candidate would be a person who entered Kansas on a visa that expired years ago." (Read more)