Unemployment and being lazy

The main reason there are migrant workers here is that the farmers who employ them don't have to pay them minimum wage. The migrant workers are not going to make a fuss over not getting paid minimum wage because the vast majority of them are here illegally. The farmers hire them through an "agent" and they pay this agent who then distributes the CASH to the illegal employees. It's a great way to work in America and not get caught. If questioned, the farmer/employer can shrug his shoulders and say he pays a "legal" agent to hire the workers for him, and washes his hands of the whole deal (any knowledge of hiring illegals). Just drive past the La Esperanza in Sturgis on payday where the workers get off the bus, line up, and the CASH is dished out. I have had the opportunity to talk to a couple of them who have said that in one summer, they can earn enough cash here to go back to Mexico, support their families, and live like kings all winter without any other work.

Also, I'm not so sure the migrant workers are working all that much in the corn fields. Most of the large corn fields are run by reputable companies such as Pioneer (etc.) and do their business on the up & up. My son wanted to work in the corn fields this year for Pioneer. This would have been his first year. He received a letter thanking him for applying, but stating that this year they had a record number of applicants for detasseling and would keep his information in case things changed, but would not be needing him this year. I believe in this poor economy, more folks are taking to the corn fields to supplement their incomes.

A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have.
-Thomas Jefferson

I am sure that there are many migrants that are illegal, but there are some that are not. I also believe that the farmers that are hiring them wheather they are using a agent or not should get in trouble becuase they know better. I know for a fact that these migrants workers that are next door to me have to be making good money becuase they can afford to buy beer everynight. And I am not talking a six pack, I am talking cases. I also know that they have been know to pay for a women,and yes that is going on here in Three Rivers. And they still can afford to pay the land lord a $100.00 a week. And when the land lord stacks them 15 to 20 people in a house you know that he is making a killing.The land lord charges per head.
So all in all there are a lot of things that have to be fixed with this whole thing. And it seems like no one whats to take care of the problem.

This story from Change.org (http://humantrafficking.change.org/blog/view/seasonal_slavery_working_in_strawberry_fields_forever)...

Seasonal Slavery: Working in Strawberry Fields Forever
by Amanda Kloer
categories: Human Trafficking in the US, International Human Trafficking, Labor Trafficking and Trade
Published June 21, 2009 @ 09:00AM PT

Strawberry season: for most of us it means fresh ripe berries baked into pies and snacked on at barbecues. But for many other men and women in the world, strawberry season is a season of slavery.

Slavery in the strawberry harvesting industry happens around the world. In one case in the U.S. last year, thirty Mexican workers were enslaved harvesting strawberries in Louisiana. They were threatened with deportation and denied water and bathroom breaks. In Germany, police raided a strawberry field to find 60 enslaved Romanian migrant workers, who were forced to work 13 hours a day for 1 Euro an hour. The Japanese documentary Sour Strawberries recently exposed the issue of forced labor in Japan. All over the world workers, especially poor migrant workers from developing countries, are being enslaved in the name of strawberries.

So why strawberries? How can something so wholesome and delicious be tainted with something so evil as slavery? Harvesting strawberries is difficult, backbreaking work. Since the berries grow on low bushes, pickers must constantly bend to find the berries, and then remove them with care not to bruise the delicate skin. It's also a highly profitable crop- second only to marijuana. The people willing to do this highly difficult and unpleasant work are mostly immigrants who are already vulnerable to exploitation, and those who choose to grow strawberries are highly interested in profit. It's a pairing which allows modern-day slavery to thrive.

So when buying strawberries this season, pay attention to where they are coming from. A family farm that sells to a farmers market? A large company in California? A small country in Latin America? Would you be willing to pay a few cents more to make sure your berries are untainted by slavery? When we shop more consciously and make ethics rather than price the bottom line, we give everyone the chance of having a better strawberry season.

Casey Cox

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."

I have heard from several teens that wanted to detassle this year, that they were denied a job because there aren't enough field jobs to go around. Many adults are working the field due to a lack of other jobs.
It would be a shame if our kids could have these jobs and aren't given the chance because of illegal immigrant workers.
My kids would be the first to take one of those strawberry picking jobs. At least they'd get paid. I make them do it for free.
I know for a fact that the local law enforcement does not do any kind of deportation. A close friend of mine was hit by a drunk illegal immigrant. When he asked the police officer what they were going to do about that( the illegal immigrant part) the officer said they don't deal with immigration. The guy was out on bail the next day and obviously didn't carry insurance on his vehicle.
Go figure.

Just to clarify a bit lovinlife. I don't know where your friend was hit by the drunk driver, but my spouse is a law enforcement officer. Local law enforcement does not do deportation, because they CAN'T do deportation. As part of the booking process, they always check the legal/illegal status of a prisoner. They then call INS, run prints (because I know you'll find this hard to believe, but they usually don't give their correct name to police) and it's up to the Immigration Service as to whether they will deport someone or not. The local police departments would LOVE to rid this area of illegal immigrants, but their hands are tied so to speak. This is such a widespread problem, that it is overwhelming to even the INS, so a lot of times, only the worst criminals are actually deported. (they promptly return...with a new name, by the way) While we are on the topic of migrant workers, it's pretty interesting because the local police departments can tell when the migrant workers are preparing to leave the area. How can they tell? They commit a ton of crimes just before leaving town. Nice, huh? Oh, but let's have some sympathy..."they just want to make a better life for themselves, right?"

I'm so sorry what happened to your friend. It makes me so angry that drunk drivers are getting away with their crimes and nothing seems to be getting done to deport these illegals. It's getting more dangerous everyday for my spouse to go to work. I can't speak for all officers, but I know the vast majority of them are doing everything they can on the local level...but the problem seems to be even too big for federal gov now. The term "mob rule" comes to mind.

A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have.
-Thomas Jefferson

If local PD can't do anything, then what about voicing the concern to federal representatives - they're the ones who make federal policy and should be addressing the issue.

An interesting question about illegal immigrants was posed on TV the other morning and indicates why the feds may be considering granting citizenship to all those here illegally - the question was "How do you send home 12 million people and make them go through the process to return legally?"

Because the concept of numbers is so overwhelming, ignoring the lawbreaking of one illegal immigrant falls under the heading of 'one more won't make any difference', I suspect.

More to the point, we're totally disrespecting all the immigrants who've entered this country by actually following the legal process, by not ensuring there are strict penalties for those who ignore the law.

The solution to this is laughably simple. If you want to get rid of people who are here illegally, make it very risky (as in high penalties) for the employers who hire them. Why hasn't this been done? In my opinion, the smart guys ran the numbers and figured out illegal aliens are a net plus for the economy. No one says it out loud because it is political death. But they don't take effective action to curb the influx, either. The simple truth is that the illegals are here to work. Without jobs, most would leave.

Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. - George Washington

lovinlife,
my teen is suppose to go to work in the fields this summer, we did all the paper work and tax forms and we still have not heard anything back from the company yet. They told us that they were to start around July 10th. That day is coming fast.
The migrant workers that are living next door to me seem not to have any jobs yet. They stay there all day and hang on the front porch. Just wondering if there are any jobs for them? I have not seen as many migrant works this year as I normally have in the past few years. I know one house that normally has them in is still empty. I have not been around the neighborhood to see if they are in other house's yet.
People and companies that do hire illegal aliens do have a high risk, they face big fines if they are caught. the key word here is caught. The only INS office that is Michigan is in Detroit so more in likely if they do not feel that the illegal alien is a treat they probably will not want to deal with it, which is a shame.