I live in California which has the highest share of undocumented crop workers in the country. But California is not alone. In the U.S. as a whole, 42% of agricultural workers are undocumented according to the USDA. This is way up from 1989 when just 14% were. But here we are.
The truth is, the strawberries, apples, lettuce, carrots—just about everything you eat, as well as the wine you drink—is now largely dependent on people who the incoming President threatens to deport in a massive wave.
I am not an expert on immigration, but my heart goes out to these workers and I’m angry that the “most powerful country in the world” can’t figure out a sane, equitable immigration policy that would benefit workers and us, the people they feed.
In the 1980s, I worked for a week, 10 hours a day, with a Mexican crew picking grapes in the Napa Valley. Do you know what a good grape picker can pick in a day? Two and a half tons of grapes—every single day, often for a month or more. Picture that for a moment.
The idea that there are American workers just waiting for agricultural jobs is a fantasy—a fantasy that hides a lot of guilt and probably a lot of racism.
I can’t wait to see what strawberries cost once the new President has his way. Then again, maybe we’ve seen the last of strawberries.
