Immigrant Labor Emotional Issue in Presidential Politics

In an article published recently in the High Plains Journal, Agri-Pulse editors note that few topics in national politics stir as much raw emotion as immigration.

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has called for building a wall along the entire U.S-Mexico border and deporting the 11 million immigrant workers in the country illegally. Other GOP contenders agree we need to secure the border but describe Trump’s plan as outlandish, simplistic and unrealistic.

Trump’s rhetoric is also generating discomfort among House Republicans who understand agriculture’s labor needs.

House Ag Committee Chairman Conaway recently told Agri-Pulse that Republican presidential candidates need to get beyond a “meat cleaver” approach to immigration policy and ensure that farms and food processors have an adequate supply of labor.

Conaway (R-TX) told reporters that a more rational approach to the issue would include ensuring an adequate guest worker program and offering legal status to immigrants already here after they pay the appropriate fines “for having broken the law.”

Regardless of which candidate you support, the reality is that U.S. agriculture needs immigrant labor. S