Who would have thunk it? Just about everyone, you say? Tsk, tsk.
A majority farmers did oppose the law, knowing what would happen but legislators thought they had a sure political winner in making the state inhospitable to those who do most of its agricultural, domestic and low paid server work. So now that the state stands to lose something like $300 million in unharvested crops, the Governor has proposed that ex-convicts be given this opportunity. Let us leave the niceties of the recruitment process aside or that the reason immigrants have done this work for about five generations now is that most Americans would rather do something else, thanks very much. So what has been the reaction of rural communities and farmers to the Governor's latest brain storm? They are, shall we say, less than enthusiastic about inviting this segment of the populace into their homes.
OK, we can chuckle at how obviously ill-considered both the original legislation and the thoughtless follow up may be. This will probably contribute to already rising food prices. And at some point, the ideological purity that dominates too much of our political discourse must give way to sensible, pragmatic decision-making if the economy is to be revived. JL
Shalini Ramachandran and Cameron McWhirter report in the Wall Street Journal:
"Republican Gov. Nathan Deal suggested that unemployed people on probation fill thousands of jobs that farmers say have been left vacant by laborers frightened off by Georgia's tough new immigration law. His suggestion, made Tuesday, came as the state released a survey showing a shortage of about 11,000 farm laborers at the beginning of the harvest season for many crops.
The new law, set to go into effect July 1, requires businesses with 10 employees or more to use a federal database to ensure employees are legally allowed to work in the U.S. It also gives police more authority to investigate suspected illegal immigrants. Several industry groups in the state, including farming, poultry, construction and tourism, lobbied against the new law's passage. Many farmers also say they oppose the probationer idea
Barbara Lawson, co-owner of a farm in southwest Georgia, said farmers "would be scared to death to let ex-convicts work on their farms" because of their criminal past.
A total of 233 farmers, polled from 76 of Georgia's 159 counties, responded to the state's voluntary survey about labor shortages. According to a another survey by the Georgia Agribusiness Council, 46% of respondents said they were experiencing labor shortages and their losses could total $300 million this year if some crops aren't harvested.
The governor said Tuesday that "the agriculture industry is the No. 1 economic engine in Georgia, and it is my sincere hope to find viable and law-abiding solutions to the current problem our farmers face."
Mr. Deal said he had asked the state's Department of Corrections to work with the Department of Agriculture to identify probationers who might be able to toil in the fields. Many of the state's 100,000 probationers are unemployed, he said. "I believe this would be a great partial solution," he said.
Probationers have been used in the past for agricultural work, but "this is the first time we've done something to this scale," according to Kristen Stancil, spokeswoman for the corrections agency. State agriculture, labor and corrections officials are working on a pilot program in which three farms in southwest Georgia would use probationers, said Commissioner Gary Black.
The exact timing, pay and other details of the voluntary program for probationers are still being worked out, he said. "It's incumbent upon us to pursue anything that's close to feasible," Mr. Black said.
D.A. King, president of the Dustin Inman Society, an anti-illegal immigrant group, said he favored the probation proposal, and also noted that farmers could hire immigrant laborers through federal guest-worker programs. "Once you have paid your penalty for violation of a crime, you should have an even shot at employment," he said.
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