Regardless of source, they have a direct video of him saying it.
He’s not entirely wrong…
From the USDA:
In 2018–20, 30 percent of crop farmworkers were U.S. born, 6 percent were immigrants who had obtained U.S. citizenship, 23 percent were other authorized immigrants (primarily permanent residents or green-card holders), and the remaining 41 percent held no work authorization.
The largest share of crop farmworkers in the U.S. are unauthorized workers according to government data.
What is so contentious about this, exactly?
WHat is interesting is we have a visa just for people who want to pick crops. Yet, the companies would rather do it illegally.
I’ve always been of the opnion that revenue from illegal workers is ill gotten gains and should be seized like drug dealers assets. You start freezing companies bank accounts and seize their money they’ll start to think twice.
Agreed. I’d rather see the companies held accountable than the immigrants. The immigrants are coming because of the demand. Kill the demand and they’ll stop coming illegally
Because its undercutting American wages and benefits. Because it creates an underclass of people. Because it hurts the American worker. You know why wages are so low and unions cant do jack shit?
Because we let these companies import cheap labor, who dont speak the language, with zero consequences. And they face zero difficulties because we just let these illegals walk right in.
Have you ever tried to form a union with people who dont speak the same language? Who are grateful just to be here, and have zero legal recourse? Its near impossible.
Diversity is not strength, its robbery.
Because its undercutting American wages and benefits. Because it creates an underclass of people. Because it hurts the American worker. You know why wages are so low and unions cant do jack shit?
Right, because so many Americans want to pick corn. We’re just chompin’ at the bit to do literally back-breaking, heart-bursting, knee-destroying work like picking strawberries and zucchini.
C’mon. Who are you trying to kid?
Because we let these companies import cheap labor
…this is the whole history of American free enterprise. Now you want to stop the importation of cheap labor? Maybe we should’ve thought about that before we made it a part of the Constitution and other bedrock institutions. Economically, these farms would be fools to hire more expensive labor when they can get away with paying significantly less under the table.
Diversity is not strength, its robbery.
Where diversity is not strength, sameness compounds.
Right, because so many Americans want to pick corn.
You know machines pick corn right?
The argument that no one wants to pick strawberries or zucchini and that’s why illegal labor is needed is ignoring one thing. No one wants to pick strawberries or zucchini for the wages offered.
No one wants to pick strawberries or zucchini for the wages offered.
Yeah, but also, no one wants to pay for American-picked groceries. And conservatives want nothing less than to subsidize farmers to encourage them to hire Americans for the job.
What’s the solution here? Like banning abortions for more babies, are we gonna ban immigration to force American to pick a grape? To beat us to submission?
The solution is to go after the companies that hire illegal labor. You fine the crap out of them.
We have visas for people who want to come to pick food. It’s nothing new. Operation Wetback was to remove illegal immigrants because Mexico wanted them back.
I do think we need to focus on the companies and not the immigrants. The real “bad” guys are the companies. The immigrants just want to work.
Yes no company wants to pay more for wages. Shrinking the labor pool will naturally force companies to pay more. There are more than enough legal migrant workers and Americans to do the job if the wages are right.
You are right. We should grant full citizenship to everyone here, and do it right now. No more hyper exploitation of these workers by the corporate class. No more fear of joining a union because you could be reported to ICE. No more using undocumented labor to pull down the living standards of everyone. Full agree. Didn’t expect to see this on the conservative lemmy. Right on.
You can solve it with visa or punishing the company.
Citizenship has value and shouldnt be handed out like candy
They should be deported so as to incentivize them not to come. Or at the very least, a minimally funded prison.
And he’s right.
We have created an entitled welfare class. We should ship them out to pick vegetables. It’d cost more but I’m fine with that.