Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack discusses the importance of commonsense immigration reform for California’s agriculture economy and rural communities. Secretary Vilsack was joined by President of the United Farm Workers Arturo Rodriguez and President of Nisei Farmers League Manuel Cunha.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack comments
United Farm Workers Arturo Rodriguez comments
President of Nisei Farmers League Manuel Cunha comments
There are over 81,033 farms in California that sell approximately $33.9 billion in agricultural products. Immigration reform would provide a skilled and reliable workforce for the agriculture industry, increase production, boost exports and grow the agriculture economy.
A White House report projects that the elimination of immigrant labor in California could cause between $1.73-3.12 billion in short-term agricultural production losses, a significant portion of the state’s $33.9 billion industry. Fixing America’s broken immigration system would grow the California economy, increasing total personal income for California families by $29.1 billion by 2020, according to Regional Economic Models, Inc.
Important benefits of comprehensive immigration reform, including a factsheet on California specific impacts, can be found here. Last month, the White House released an infographic on the cost of inaction on immigration reform.