As farm raids continue, farmers may not have enough workers to harvest crops; some in GOP want reforms

Deportation raids and fear have led to fewer farm workers.
 (Photo by Tim Mossholder, Unsplash)

Despite President Donald Trump's aggressive push to oust unauthorized immigrants from the United States, a growing number of Republicans see the current lack of illegal border crossings as an opportunity to push for a shift in priorities that includes legislation that protects farm workers from deportation.

GOP backers for immigration change warn that "if farms can’t hire all of the workers they need, they risk being forced to leave crops to spoil or paying more for labor, which could lead to higher food costs," report Olivia Beavers and Michelle Hackman of The Wall Street Journal. Some GOP members "argue the party should focus on changing immigration law to allow some workers to gain temporary legal status and make sure people can remain on the job."

Still, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.), "who controls what bills come to the floor, signaled any immigration overhaul would face an uphill battle," Beavers and Hackman write. 

The Labor Department recently "established the Office of Immigration Policy, which aims to streamline and modernize the process for employers — including agricultural employers — as they navigate the various programs that include supporting legal pathways to work," Beavers and Hackman add. 

While the U.S. has several visa programs for agricultural workers, many farmers say that the programs are cumbersome and fail to meet the needs of certain types of farms. According to the Wall Street Journal article, "People using the visas also need to return to their home countries for a chunk of each year, meaning farms with year-round work, like dairy farms, can’t use them."

Republicans backing immigration reform face push-back from the Trump administration and potential fallout from another failed immigration reform bill. "Administration officials have repeatedly pledged to hit a goal of arresting a million unauthorized immigrants in Trump’s first year in office, though they have hit less than a fifth of that number so far," the Journal reports. "Farm areas skew heavily toward Republicans, raising the political stakes for the party."