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Multiple Texas Farms Shut Down After ‘Almost 100%’ Of Workforce Vanishes Overnight

shrug...

As I keep saying...the farmers should have seen this coming...and done something about it...instead of pissing and moaning now.

Seems like the govt bears some responsibility in this situation.

Not Trump himself of course, but the rest of them.
 

n a stunningly swift overnight change, some Texas farm operations had to shut down after losing virtually all of their workforce, an exodus triggered by the increase in immigration raids and increased enforcement. The ripple effects of these raids are the gift that keeps on giving and will be felt nationwide: unpicked crops are now left unharvested, livestock were left untended, and rural economies are on edge.

This story isn’t just a tale of woe for Texan farms; it's a warning for American agribusiness, food prices, and the communities that keep food on our plates. So, let's examine what effect these raids have on agriculture, livestock, workers, and the American public.

--

Expect higher prices in grocery stores all over the country...
Why didn't the farms use our guest worker program for farm workers called the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Program? If farms are shutting down, it's their fault for hiring under the table. It will also be their fault for higher prices at the grocery store. Don't blame ICE or Trump for what the farmers could have done but didn't do.
 
Dude, do you really want me to pull up those posts?
shrug...

You are free to pull up whatever you want and to spin it however you want. You are still lying.
 
shrug...

You are free to pull up whatever you want and to spin it however you want. You are still lying.

Do you recall you explanation for why Trump did the tariffs the way he did?
 

Multiple Texas Farms Shut Down After ‘Almost 100%’ Of Workforce Vanishes Overnight​

Maybe those farmers should have been proactive about their employment practices instead of hiding their heads in the sand. I mean, it's not like they didn't know their illegal alien employees would be targeted for deportation.

Sad that the above needs to be said. I guess there will always be those who would rather play the blame game than to realize all this could have been avoided if the farmers did what they were supposed to do. Hire through the H-2A Visa program.
 
Do you recall you explanation for why Trump did the tariffs the way he did?
I know what I've said. If you have a point...make it.

But be warned...I'll reject your inevitable deflection.
 
The employers were hiring these guys because they didn't pay taxes on the wages. So yeah, it was cheap, for the employer and employee. The taxpayer picked up the tab for unpaid taxes and social services.
Let's explain to them who made out on that deal. I bolded the correct answer above.
We didn't really get cheaper fruits and vegetables when it's all said and done. That's the myth.
 
Overstays would suffer a fine and possibly be required to leave for a defined period or permanently.

It sets a precedent to be followed for those who enter illegally in the future, who will have evidence that they will not be allowed to remain when they enter illegally, and should they ignore the law they will be documented thoroughly with a lengthy time before they would be allowed to attempt legal entry.

That's and issue which could easily be solved by a national ID smart card being required to be possessed by all for quick ID.
Most undocumented immigrants don't enter illegally. They enter legally and overstay.

You can implement your "papers at the border" idea for new arrivals and implement papers for people already here. On the back, you can say that after a grace period, anyone caught working without a 90-day work would permanently lose the right to work in the US. There would be MASSIVE compliance.

I'm in favor of a national smart ID card, but forcing all citizens to carry their ID at all times would NOT be popular.
 
Sad that the above needs to be said. I guess there will always be those who would rather play the blame game than to realize all this could have been avoided if the farmers did what they were supposed to do. Hire through the H-2A Visa program.
In a perfect world, sure. Do we live in one? Not that I've experienced. You're oversimplifying the issues that currently exist.

Agriculture tends to be more dynamic than you're alluding to with shifting schedules that can demand immediate labor. The H-2A program requires a lot of red tape and time that could mean the difference between harvested and wasted crops. That doesn't even account for the level of backlog and other systemic delays mentioned earlier in this thread. No, what we need is a streamlined process to meet that demand, and a way to subsidize costs for smaller farms that do not have the financial backing for H-2A workers.

The problem with the system today is farmers who lack the revenue and resources are forced to either follow the law and lose their farms or evade the law by finding unofficial channels to hire labor. Until those issues are addressed, removing that unofficial labor merely addresses a symptom of the problem without addressing the underlying problem.
 

Multiple Texas Farms Shut Down After ‘Almost 100%’ Of Workforce Vanishes Overnight​

Maybe those farmers should have been proactive about their employment practices instead of hiding their heads in the sand. I mean, it's not like they didn't know their illegal alien employees would be targeted for deportation.

Since many of those being rounded up have Green Cards, and are in the Immigration Courts, being processed in as Resident Aliens and eventually Citizens, chances are it was legal to hire the folks. Now of course the ICE folks need numbers, instead of those dangerous criminals we were promised they would be going after.
 
Why didn't the farms use our guest worker program for farm workers called the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Program? If farms are shutting down, it's their fault for hiring under the table. It will also be their fault for higher prices at the grocery store. Don't blame ICE or Trump for what the farmers could have done but didn't do.

I'm guessing you don't know that most of those folks have Green Cards, and the Green Card Holders are being picked up and scheduled for deportation anyway. So the workers were legal, but hey, who cares. We need the numbers to show Trump is winning!
 
I'm guessing you don't know that most of those folks have Green Cards, and the Green Card Holders are being picked up and scheduled for deportation anyway. So the workers were legal, but hey, who cares. We need the numbers to show Trump is winning!
No way to tell. I doubt @trixare4kids would admit to knowing something that directly contradicts her beliefs.
 
Most undocumented immigrants don't enter illegally. They enter legally and overstay.

You can implement your "papers at the border" idea for new arrivals and implement papers for people already here. On the back, you can say that after a grace period, anyone caught working without a 90-day work would permanently lose the right to work in the US. There would be MASSIVE compliance.

I'm in favor of a national smart ID card, but forcing all citizens to carry their ID at all times would NOT be popular.
There are those who have entered legally and those who have entered illegally.
I would require legal entry to be the only way to prevent being deported, unless they've broken some other law that requires being deported.
Most people carry a wallet to hold their money, how difficult would it be to put their smart card in their wallet?
 
shrug...

If it's a catch 22, it's because the producers have made it so.
Well, them and American consumers and the American government and American corporations.

So, America, basically.

Instead of deciding to break the law in order to gain profit, they could very well put their efforts into changing the law.

I agree. But then, so could you, if you were willing to acknowledge reality and attempt to work within it.

Unless, of course, you are strictly disciplined to ensure that nothing you buy has been made cheaper through illegal labor. If you can prove that's the case, then I'll retract. Otherwise you're a part of it, bud, like it or not.
 
Animal Planet HQ - surely one of the most reliable, accurate, hard-hitting news sources in 2025.
 
Well, them and American consumers and the American government and American corporations.

So, America, basically.



I agree. But then, so could you, if you were willing to acknowledge reality and attempt to work within it.

Unless, of course, you are strictly disciplined to ensure that nothing you buy has been made cheaper through illegal labor. If you can prove that's the case, then I'll retract. Otherwise you're a part of it, bud, like it or not.
I don't have the money for the required lobbyists. They do. And, since it's their profit on the line, they need to spend the money.
 
Why didn't the farms use our guest worker program for farm workers called the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Program?
Because it doesnt work. O ly allows a tiny fractiom of the necessary labor in..

It needs to be fixed. Expanded exponentially and streamlined.


If farms are shutting down, it's their fault for hiring under the table
no its the governments fault for not fixing the legal immigration stsytem so it meets the needs of the American economy.
Don't blame ICE or Trump for what the farmers could have done but didn't do.
Don't blame good hard working people who are doing necessary work and contributing to the US GDP for the fact that the legal immigration system is badly broken and doesnt come anywhere close to meeting the labor needs of the US economy.

Use common sense.
 
A lot of folks who voted for Trump last fall didn't know that tariffs and mass deportations would lead to higher prices.

They were clearly told that. For both. They chose not to listen.

Their desire to be led by the nose unquestioningly, by an autocrat, started in 2017...and they continue to fulfill that obligation.
 
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I know what I've said. If you have a point...make it.

But be warned...I'll reject your inevitable deflection.

Well you have to, by obligation, if it reflects negatively on TACO. Right?
 
I'm guessing you don't know that most of those folks have Green Cards, and the Green Card Holders are being picked up and scheduled for deportation anyway. So the workers were legal, but hey, who cares. We need the numbers to show Trump is winning!
Well, if the workers are legal as you claim , why are they not showing up for worK?
 
They were clearly told that. For both. They chose not to listen.

Their desire to be led by the nose, unquestioningly, by an autocrat started in 2017...and they continue to fulfill that obligation.
There havent been any higher prices. Inflation has fallen.
 
I'm in favor of a national smart ID card, but forcing all citizens to carry their ID at all times would NOT be popular.

They would still need probable cause to demand to see it. And myself and many others would demand that they identify it.
 
There havent been any higher prices. Inflation has fallen.

Because TACO has had to walk back almost everything. His latest waffle is deport ag/hotel workers....dont deport them...ok deport them :rolleyes:

And that will affect prices. He is on his knees begging they raise the fed interest rates...and look how nasty he's being to Powell because he wont save his ass from his own incompetency? TACO knows what's coming.
 
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