The United States has had a long history of immigration issues with Mexico. One of the main issues with regards to illegal immigration from Mexico is the place of illegal immigrants in the American workforce. Many argue that illegal immigrants are taking jobs from American citizens. Immigrants from Mexico have become an integral part of the American economy, in particular the agricultural industry. With the tightening of immigration policies in the U.S., there will be negative effects on agriculture, in particular on the productivity and ability of crop farms to function at their highest capacity.

Legislative bills in two U.S. states stand out in particular: Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070 and Georgia’s House Bill 87. The legislative intent portion of the Arizona Bill states,

“The legislature finds that there is a compelling interest in the cooperative enforcement of federal immigration laws throughout all of Arizona…The provisions of this act are intended to work together to discourage and deter the unlawful entry and presence of aliens and economic activity by persons unlawfully present in the United States.”

Likewise, the Georgia statute echoes a similar intent. Although it is indeed a responsibility to try to prevent the illegal entry of non-U.S. citizens and to deport those that are here, the U.S. has so far been unable to put a halt to undocumented entry of Latinos in particular. Whether intended or not this group has become a major part of the U.S. economy and the U.S. agricultural sector. Therefore the situation is far more complicated than just sending all immigrants back to their home countries.

The main issue is that these immigration laws adversely affect the ability of farmers to harvest their crops. Unharvested crops result in a waste in food. The direct cause of such waste is that migrant laborers willing to do the jobs are not allowed to stay in the country. This problem is understandable from a national security perspective. Obviously the U.S. does not want undocumented immigrants in the country. However, the farm crisis demonstrates the need for a revised guest worker program in the U.S. If not, then these governmental policies need to give incentives to American citizens to take these jobs. Americans tend to find higher paying jobs outside the agricultural sector with the same skills they would need to work on a farm (i.e., construction, warehouses, etc.).

The argument is often made that illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from American workers. However, when Arizona and Georgia enacted their immigration policy, the immediate negative impact on their economies was obvious. The data–statistically and anecdotally– shows that when these migrant groups are pushed back, the local citizens that supposedly had their jobs stolen do not fill the now vacant positions. Perhaps the issue is the public’s perception of the problem. An article by Victoria Esses et al. states,

“…newspapers [in] were particular likely to frame support for the bill [Arizona Senate Bill 1070] in terms of threats from illegal immigrants, including economic threats….[T]his framing may not only reflect the views of those who support the bill, but may also lead to increased support for the bill through the processes that get set into motion following priming of economic threat and competition.”

These bills can be costly, too. Such legislation cost Arizona up to $250 million due to economic boycotts, and in Georgia it cost up to $300 million in crops that were at potential risk of spoiling because they could not be harvested. These types of bills could cost the United States $9 billion in lost agricultural production, ironically because there are not enough people to harvest the crops. It is very clear that the use of immigrant labor is very important and the restrictions by these statutes, as in Arizona and Georgia, only cost more money than they are said to generate for the American people.

Thus this problem also has food security implications. The U.S. wastes 31- 40% of its “post-harvest food supply” and most of this waste happens because of the consumer. The waste of food on the consumer front is expected, to some degree, but to add to the already high waste numbers because farmers did not have enough people to pick the crops is as unnecessary as it is irresponsible. Food security should be at the top of the national security agenda. It is understandable that military security is a top priority but it does not mean much if the people in the country they are trying to protect do not have any food to eat. The only way to attain this basic food need is to have the labor force to fulfill the production needs.

Hired immigrant workers are on the rise and therefore such a review is all the more necessary. The Mexican born population in America’s labor force has helped significantly expand the fruit, vegetable and horticultural industries. Sources state that from 2007-2009 these individuals represented “68% of the US hired farm (crop)…up from 54% in 1989-1991.” In addition, “96% of California’s hired crop work force is from rural Mexico.” It is the discourse relating to Mexican immigration that needs to be changed. The current arguments in favour of harsher immigration policy claim this will allow more money to flow into the hands of American citizens but these immigration laws in Arizona or Alabama have clearly demonstrated the opposite effect. The argument needs to be made that the economic benefits from immigrants actually makes more money for the country and that agricultural industry jobs are not being taken from American citizens in the way that has and is being portrayed.

To date, the focus has been on politics not policy, leading to negative effects on American agriculture, American taxpayers, and the immigrant community. For the economic security and food security of the country the best option is to allow immigrant workers and to help those illegal workers become legal. Driving these groups out will cause higher fruit and vegetable prices, hard times for those involved in the nation’s agricultural industry, and less money being generated and spent by immigrant groups in the U.S.