...Because of our immigration woes, no sector has been left more vulnerable than American agriculture. On Aug. 4, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Mexican Farm Labor Agreement with Mexico (better known as the Bracero Treaty). Because of a number of administrative problems, all of which are surmountable today, that agreement was nullified in 1964. For many years after, migrant workers continued crossing the border to harvest crops as they ripened; generally, workers returned to Mexico when the growing season ended. As border enforcement increased over the years, so did the dangers and expense of returning to Mexico, so many of those workers stayed in the United States for the work.
The end of the Bracero Treaty and a wide open border created the problems of illegal immigration that we see today. It also marked a shift of foreign agricultural labor policy from the executive branch to the legislative branch of government, where little has been accomplished. Proponents of the latest attempt at immigration reform, the Goodlatte bill, assure us that there will be no interruption of labor and that our nation’s domestic food supply will be protected.
This assurance comes from the same group that thinks prisoners or welfare recipients or American citizens should be dispatched to the fields to harvest crops during the short window of ripeness. No farmer in his right mind should trust a politician who thinks American citizens will show up on the farm ready to work when the harvest begins. Legal American citizens haven’t harvested crops since the family left the family farm.
The blame for inaction on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, sanctuary cities, the separation of families at the border, and the growing undocumented immigrant population rests squarely on the shoulders of Congress. On the issue of illegal immigration, Congress has been weighed and found wanting. It has failed our country, and it is time for an intervention.
The problem of illegal immigration began with poor management of a foreign agriculture workforce and the president of the United States, not Congress, can begin to end it there as well. Through a diplomatic agreement such as a treaty, trade or executive agreement, the president could negotiate an agreement with Mexico (and other countries) to implement a foreign worker program and allow employed foreign workers to remain in the country. No vote is required for a trade or executive agreement; the president can bypass Congress. A treaty or trade agreement, synchronized with the passage of border protection and an electronic employment verification system (E-verify), would end illegal immigration.
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