South Georgia produces the majority of the Vidalia onions in the grocery stores. The majority of these farms employ migrant workers to harvest the favored onion, but the new immigration law passed in Georgia may halt their production.
Georgia’s new immigration law will take effect July 1st and will require any business employing more than ten people to check the status of new hires through e-verify. This will affect the number of people available to harvest the onions because some of the farm workers admit they are in the US illegally. The migrant farm workers will likely go to other states with less restrictive immigration laws leaving the Georgia farmers with little options.
One farmer states that most Americans won’t do the physically strenuous job of picking onions from the ground and they rely heavily on Hispanic workers. Another farmer stated that if he is forced to hire people at a higher wage the price of the Vidalia onion will increase tremendously.
The debate over immigration is a prickly subject, many employers rely on both illegal and legal immigrants who often do work many Americans won’t do. The millions of illegal immigrants present in the US face deportation unless they employ an immigration attorney to help them apply for work visas or citizenship. For the illegal immigrant attaining citizenship can be difficult and often they remain in the US illegally despite the risks. An immigration lawyer will apply their expertise to help anyone who wishes to become legal residents.
