Loren Locke quoted about effect of ICE raids on regenerative agriculture
“We’re seeing policy whiplash that’s creating operational chaos,” Loren Locke, a business immigration attorney and former U.S. Department of State consular officer, told Sourcing Journal. “This instability makes it impossible for businesses to plan long-term investments or really changes of any kind.”
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“Unlike conventional farming operations that rely more on mechanization than manpower, the sustainable methods used in regenerative cotton operations benefit from the farmworkers’ special expertise,” Locke said. “Immigration enforcement actions could drive away experienced farmworkers and could do so at points in the cotton season that are particularly devastating to the outcome. It is just unrealistic to think that farmers could replace their current farmworkers on the fly with willing U.S. workers with adequate skill.”
Better Cotton—the world’s largest cotton sustainability program, which operates in 22 countries including the U.S. and accounts for 22 percent of global cotton production—echoed Locke’s sentiment, but noted that the fallout will likely have a “relatively low impact on the U.S. cotton sector [which is ranked as the fourth-largest producer worldwide, according to Mordor Intelligence] when compared to other commodities like fruit, vegetables and dairy.”
A representative from Better Cotton added that most U.S. cotton farms now rely on foreign nationals who come to the U.S. temporarily to perform seasonal agricultural labor, aka H-2A workers. Through this program, farms are able to meet labor demands while maintaining protections for U.S. workers’ wages and working conditions.
Still, it’s far from a permanent solution. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, H-2A workers are not allowed to stay for longer than one year, and the approval process can take up to three months, posing additional logistical challenges.
“Whether they have current U.S. work authorization or not, individuals employed in agriculture—including those on H-2A visas—retain significant legal protections under federal law,” Locke said. “But ICE raids can create a climate of fear that effectively nullifies these protections, as many become too afraid to report violations or assert their rights.”
https://sourcingjournal.com/topics/labor/trumps-ice-raids-still-regenerative-agricultures-growth-1234751732/