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Farmers Worry About Immigration Crackdown

NPR | By Jennifer Ludden
Published September 18, 2007 at 4:00 PM EDT
Leitz Farms employs about 180 seasonal migrant workers every year. Co-owner Fred Leitz worries he could lose half his staff or more under new rules cracking down on false Social Security numbers.
Leitz Farms employs about 180 seasonal migrant workers every year. Co-owner Fred Leitz worries he could lose half his staff or more under new rules cracking down on false Social Security numbers.

A court will soon decide whether the Department of Homeland Security can go ahead with a crackdown on illegal workers. DHS wants to hold employers accountable if their workers' Social Security numbers can't be proved valid. Employers fear the new rule could put them out of business and farmers feel especially vulnerable.

The potential for problems can be seen in a visit to Fred Leitz's farm in southwest Michigan, where all but a few of the seasonal employees are Hispanic. Based on industry estimates, Leitz says he can only assume that as many as 70 percent are undocumented.

For years, Leitz has lobbied Congress to legalize the Hispanics who now make up the bulk of the agricultural work force in Michigan and elsewhere.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

National
Jennifer Ludden
NPR National Correspondent Jennifer Ludden covers economic inequality, exploring systemic disparities in housing, food insecurity and wealth. She seeks to explain the growing gap between socio-economic groups, and government policies to try and change it.