Immigration law like Arizona's in California would surely devastate national economy
Arizona's passage of SB 1070 has ignited an impassioned political debate nationally. The dissenters and supporters of the bill are casting an uncomfortable spotlight on the issue of immigration, an issue everyone, regardless of party affiliation, agrees is a national problem.
We were hearing about the fallout from this bill even before it became law on July 29. Throngs of undocumented people were leaving, fearing that just because they looked Latino they would be stopped and asked for immigration papers. These provisions of the law have since been rejected by the court, but they have carried out their intended purpose.
We are now waiting to see what happens to Arizona's economy. I suspect there is unlikely to be a tsunami effect anywhere much beyond Arizona, however, because undocumented folks in Arizona are participating in Arizona's economy, which for the most part doesn't make or break the U.S. economy.
But not all states are created equal. If, for example, California made the decision to pass a similar law to SB 1070, the entire U.S. economy would suffer. And at a time when the economy is most sensitive, such a decision could be catastrophic.
California is the No. 1 agricultural commodity producer in the U.S., doubling total agriculture receipts of that of the second largest producer, Texas. California supplies the entire country with fruits, nuts, dairy, grains and vegetables. These essential items on our grocery list have remained affordable, despite the recession, largely because the harvesters are low-paid farmworkers, a large percentage of whom are undocumented.
Thinking about immigration in terms of a vital work force that offers us all affordable healthy food is something none of the pundits talk about. Farmworkers, quietly and humbly, work America's fields. Not just California's fields, but America's fields.
The United Farm Workers of America is running a campaign called "Take Our Jobs," that invites unemployed American citizens to try agricultural labor. When I heard UFW President Arturo Rodriguez talk about the campaign on "The Colbert Report," only three people had taken up the UFW on the offer.
These are jobs almost no one wants. If California passed a law to push out the undocumented immigrants, agricultural employers would be forced to raise wages to attract employees, which would dramatically increase the cost of food.
Having to pay more for essential necessities like food, especially when there is an obesity epidemic that is in part combated by access to more fruits and vegetables, is the last thing we as a country need to rebound from this recession.
Our success as a country, like it or not, is dependent upon our bringing all human resources to the table. While pushing out or criminalizing immigrants might make us feel better emotionally, practically, we may unknowingly push the economy over the edge.
I've used the example of farmworkers in California because this is a population I interact with on a normal basis, but I'm sure we can all think of a class of workers that is undocumented that is contributing to this economy, so that you and I can continue the work we do. Cutting players from the team when we are down by two points is not the strategy we need right now. We need everyone to play; we just need to reorganize how it's being done.
The federal government needs our support in solving this hard problem in a reasonable, timely fashion. If we choose not to, it's our own prosperity that's at risk.
Steve W. Schilling is chief executive officer of Clinica Sierra Vista in Bakersfield.
