USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins says mass deportations of undocumented immigrants will be done everywhere, including farm country. She says the plan is to have a 100% American workforce.
Rollins indicated that Medicaid work requirements may be able to fill a gaping hole left if migrant workers are deported.
“When you think about it, there are 34 million able-bodied adults in our Medicaid program," Rollins said. "There are plenty of workers in America.”
Doug Sombke is the President of the South Dakota Farmers Union. He said filling jobs in this way isn't possible in the agriculture industry.
“It’s unrealistic. Just, I mean if anybody thinks that that’s the case, that we’re going to put these recipients of SNAP and Medicaid into the workforce, let’s be real. Especially in South Dakota, that just isn’t the case. We are not going to make that happen,” Sombke said. “It’s going to be devastation if that’s the case. I mean the level of unemployment that we have in the state is lowest it’s ever going to get. The reason is certain people, some people just don’t have the ability, whether it’s physical or mental. They just don’t have the capacity to do the work.”
Scott VanderWal is the President of the South Dakota Farm Bureau. He said though he supports the idea of Medicaid work requirements, he’s not sure if it could replace migrant labor in agriculture.
“Under the work regulations we have now, employers are required to advertise locally for the openings they have. The response rates to that among Americans and such are very, very low, in the single digits,” VanderWal said. “And in order to qualify to hire immigrant labor, you have to prove that you’re not getting a response from domestic workers. So that makes me wonder if it’s very realistic. It’s worth a try, but I would question whether it’s going to be very successful long term.”
VanderWal said the Farm Bureau has been asking for labor reform in agriculture for years, and little has been done. While complete numbers are unknown, he estimated undocumented workers are about 40% to 45% of the agriculture workforce.
Current labor laws require ag workers and companies to ensure immigrant applicants have real documentation, but if they’re presented with counterfeit documents that look legitimate, they have to accept it. If real documents are rejected, the farmer is liable to get sued.
Rollins also said there will be "no amnesty" for migrant workers on farms. That could mean trouble for the state's biggest industry.
“There will be no amnesty. And I think that’s very, very important. I, and the rest of our cabinet certainly support that, effectuate that and make sure that happens every single day. The second thing, to your question about mass deportations," Rollins said. "The president and I have spoken about that once or twice, and he has always been of the mindset at the end of the day, the promise to America to ensure that we have a 100% American workforce stands. But we must be strategic in how we are implementing the mass deportations so as not to compromise our food supply.”
Sombke with the Farmer's Union said he's surprised former South Dakota governor and current Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is okay with this.
“I’m appalled that even our former governor, who would always ring the Christian bell, is falling for this gimmick because it’s bad, it’s wrong, it would do nothing for this state,” Sombke said.
VanderWal with the SD Farm Bureau said if mass deportations occur, it could lead to animals not being fed and cows not being milked. He said that becomes a problem.
“That becomes an animal welfare issue. They have to be taken care of. And so, that’s where we get back to what we’ve asked the administration to be cognizant of that potential, the pinch it would put these employers in the production of the food. Like I said, if it was physically possible to remove all the undocumented workers all the way through the food chain, it would be a huge problem and disruption to our food system,” VanderWal said. “And this is really about food security, which is national security to our country. If we get to the point where we can’t food our people on a timely basis and a reliable basis that’s a problem.”
While the state has seen small-scale deportations, no mass events have been reported.
