Asparagus growers will be among the first farmers in Michigan to suffer if there's not enough migrant labor to harvest the crop this spring. Many growers are not optimistic that Congress will pass legislation in time for the season.
Farmers say they need just one thing
The first thing farmers who hire seasonal labor want people in government and the general public to know is that they don't want to hire illegal immigrants or "unauthorized" workers. Click here for full story.Want legal workers? Hire a foreigner
If no immigration reform is enacted by Congress before the imminent growing season, farmers who need workers have two ways to fill their labor needs. First, they can go through the H-2a program, or they can hire workers who come to their door at the appropriate time. Click here for full story.Hispanics love their children too
It takes little more than a gurgle from his infant son to make Juan fail to hear any question asked of him. His attention turns immediately, exclusively to the baby, swaddled cozily in a baby-blue blanket and secured in an infant car seat, the plastic kind in which young Americans carry their children. Click here for full story.The Basic Pilot Program: Don't ask, don't tell won't help
It's a joke that farmers dare not laugh about, because Homeland Security might be watching or listening, and its personnel are not known for their senses of humor. Click here for full story.Why H-2a is seldom used
The reason most farmers in Michigan who need migrant labor don't go through the H-2a program is because it simply doesn't work, say several farmers interviewed for this issue's stories. Click here for full story.Vreba-Hoff dairy could be found in contempt of court
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has asked Michigan's 30th Judicial Court to find a southern Michigan dairy farm in contempt of court for violation of a consent judgment reached in 2004 with the DEQ. Click here for full story.Bush signs immigration reform - just for jocks
Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and Disney on Ice are the "deserving" organizations that will benefit from the only piece of immigration legislation passed by Congress in 2006. Click here for full story.