Politico’s Bill Tomson writes today about farmers worried that surging Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s inflammatory statements on immigration will have long-lasting implications for farm labor. Trump has vowed, if elected, to deport 11 million immigrants who are in the country illegally.
According to former deputy agriculture secretary Chuck Connor, roughly 1.4 million undocumented immigrants work on U.S. farms each year, comprising about 60 percent of the nation’s agricultural workforce.
California farmer Frank Muller told Politico, “My farm would shut down today if you removed my workforce.”