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Marie Hornbein
Spring Mills
Could the election of Donald Trump cause you to lose your farm or your business?
If you don’t believe it, ask Florida farmers. Florida’s punishing 2023 anti-immigration law dealt a blow, not just to the workers but to the owners of the farms whose bottom lines were crushed by the loss of labor. The effect of the law was immediate.
The fact is that without unauthorized immigrants, there are very few farm workers left “… (B)erries are going to become an item that’s going to be a luxury, not something people buy every time they go to the grocery store like they do now,” Fidel Sanchez, owner of Sanchez Farm in Central Florida says, “The government doesn’t seem to care. Maybe they think the crops are gonna pick themselves.”
If Trump wins and starts his crackdown on immigrants, who will harvest your crops? The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that nationwide 40% of farmworkers are unauthorized, and there are even more in Pennsylvania. Will you see your produce rotting in the field? Can you survive the economic blow? Or will you be forced to sell your farm?
Not a farmer? Unfortunately, the shortage of workers is not just impacting agriculture. According to the newamericaneconomy.org, foreign-born workers comprise more than 50% of labor in construction, personal care, housekeeping, hospitality and textile businesses. Crippling national immigration policies will flatten your bottom line.
Think about it. Think of your future. Protect yourself this election