Farm workers shortage threatened

LAKELAND,, Fla., Nov. 19 (UPI) -- As harvesting season approaches, Florida growers are worried about a potential shortage of farm workers caused by the crackdown on illegal aliens crossing the nation's borders in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

"We currently don't have a labor shortage, but we do have a lot of concern. We are very concerned we won't have enough labor during the height of the season in January," said Casey Pace, a spokeswoman for Florida Citrus Mutual, the state's most powerful agricultural organization.

"We nearly always expect some shortages, but this concern is heightened by Sept. 11," she said Monday.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service said the Border Patrol is posting more agents on the border and erecting steel and concrete barriers, remote sensors and high intensity lights --resulting in a reluctance by Mexicans to cross U.S. borders.

"We're operating at a higher degree of scrutiny," said Russ Bergeron, a spokesman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. "The smuggling organizations are aware of it, and they realize that it's harder to cross. So they aren't trying it."

He said the effort has been going on for more than a year, but it was intensified by the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by immigrants, legal and otherwise.

INS critics contend the real reason is that immigrants are waiting for progress by Mexican President Vicente Fox in establishing a guest workers program. Talks on that issue will resume in Washington Tuesday between Secretary of State Colin Powell and Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda.

Other skeptics say potential immigrants became afraid to come because of the threat of more terrorist attacks.

Whatever the cause, Florida citrus, tomato and strawberry growers are getting nervous.

"It's no secret that a lot of farmers hire illegals," said Walter Kates, director of labor relations for the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association in Orlando. "It could be a problem finding workers this year."

The INS said the number of immigrants caught at the Mexican border last month dropped 54 percent from October 2000.

"I'm hearing that people are afraid to cross," said Jim Beckley, owner of River Gold Inc., a Fort Pierce company that harvests citrus. "If they don't show people to cross, yes, we are going to have a problem."

There are conflicting figures on how many migrants live in Florida or go there for the peak of the winter harvest in December and January.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said there are a total of 60,000. The Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association said it is 125,000. The Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing at the University of Florida puts the number at 233,000, and the Florida Farmworker Association said it's 400,000.

A survey by the Department of Labor two years ago said 52 percent of all agricultural workers in the United States are here illegally, but that survey relied on workers to admit they were illegals. Florida Citrus Mutual, the state's largest citrus organization, said it is 90 percent.

Farmers are required to pay the $5.15 minimum wage to the workers, but many get more than that because they are paid for their protection. Workers get about 80 cents for picking a 90-pound box of oranges, $1.70 for a 12-pound flat of strawberries and 40 cents for a 25-pound bucket of tomatoes.

A strong citrus worker willing to work on ladders reaching to the tops of trees can make about $8 an hour.

The INS does not treat the situation in Florida aggressively, trying to stop immigrants at the border in the Southwest rather than raiding farms.

Illegal workers are hired after they present false documents to crew leaders or harvesting companies. Growers don't examine them too closely. For one thing, they are afraid of suits. They say if they question a documented Hispanic worker too closely, discrimination could become an issue.

"The system is screwed up. I don't know if there will be a smaller labor force this year because of Sept. 11, but farmers always want a huge labor pool so they can pay less," said Rob Williams, an attorney who represents Florida farm workers.

In addition to President Fox's desire for a guest worker program, there are other attempts at farm-worker reform, but Sept. 11 dropped them into the background.

"We were very close to doing something. Maybe we can get it back next year," Williams said.

There are several bills in Congress addressing the problem, but none is getting much attention.

Among the ideas is to declare amnesty for all illegal agricultural workers in the United States.

Growers want to require anyone who gets amnesty to remain in the fields for five years, farm worker advocates say that is akin to indentured servitude.