(24 Apr 2017) NO GRAPES YET ON THESE VINEYARDS, BUT A COUPLE OF WORKERS GET THE FIELDS READY AT THIS OREGON WINERY.
SOUNDBITE, Patricia Dudley, vineyard president:
"The type of grapes that we grow here in the Willamette valley are not your everyday table-ready. We're making a luxury product here. That's what the Oregon wine industry is based on and it does not require mechanization."
BUT NOW AS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP'S STRICTER IMMIGRATION POLICY UNFOLDS….
FARMERS HERE ARE GETTING WORRIED THEY WON'T HAVE THE MANUAL LABOR NEEDED DURING HARVEST SEASON.
FEARS AMPLIFIED AFTER U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT AGENTS ARRESTED 11 FARMWORKERS IN WOODBURN, OREGON IN FEBRUARY.
FOUR OF THEM NOW FACE POSSIBLE DEPORTATION, SENDING CHILLS THROUGH THE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY IN THE AREA AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
SOUNDBITE, Mariana Alvarez Florez, farmworker: "The first thing I do in the morning is, as a Mexican, I sign the cross in the name of God…"
SOUNBITE, Mariana Alvarez Florez, farmworker: "The fear is like a barrier I have to overcome because I have rent and bills waiting. So I have to go look for work to have a place for my children and I."
FARMERS ARE TELLING WORKERS TO BE CAREFUL.
SOUNDBITE, Moses Maldonado, farmworker "They all advise us. Stay away, don't go out, don't get drunk., don't do nothing illegal because they need us. They worry too."
U.S. AGRICULTURE RELIES HEAVILY ON HUMAN LABOR.
A SURVEY BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOUND THAT IMMIGRANTS WORKING IN THE COUNTRY ILLEGALLY MAKE UP 67 PERCENT OF FARMWORKERS IN FRUITS AND NUT FARMS, 61 PERCENT IN VEGETABLES AND 35 PERCENT IN NURSERIES.
SOUNDBITE, Jeff Stone, Oregon Association of Nurseries executive director: "The truth of the matter is that lot of families are mixed. That means you may have a fully documented nursery worker but maybe their wife or parents are undocumented, when these enforcement actions come about any time you're driving from Woodburn to Portland, you're living in fear."
THE NATION'S AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY BRACING FOR A HUMAN AND ECONOMIC TOLL IN THE WAKE OF AN IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN.
KRYSTA FAURIA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
