Alabama's strict new immigration law, which instructs schools, hospitals, and police to check for proof of citizenship, has seem many undocumented workers flee the state. Farms across the state have struggled to harvest their crops, working with skeleton migrant labor crew from Mexico, who traditionally have tended to the agriculture in the state. While there have been recruiting efforts to hire unemployed Americans, the hard work, long hours, low pay, transportation costs, and experience... more »
Alabama's strict new immigration law, which instructs schools, hospitals, and police to check for proof of citizenship, has seem many undocumented workers flee the state. Farms across the state have struggled to harvest their crops, working with skeleton migrant labor crew from Mexico, who traditionally have tended to the agriculture in the state. While there have been recruiting efforts to hire unemployed Americans, the hard work, long hours, low pay, transportation costs, and experience have proved to be serious obstacles. Most farmers do not want to hire Americans, because very few last even a week in the fields. On the Jenkins farm on Chandler Mountain, about 50 miles north of Birmingham, the majority of the tomato and pepper crops have rotted in the fields from lack of reliable labor..An abandoned harvest bucket lies in the field with rotting tomatoes which were not picked this year. « less
