“In the last five years, he has advertised in local newspapers and accepted more than a dozen unemployed applicants from the state’s job agency. Even when the average rate on his fields was $20 an hour, the U.S.-born workers lost interest, fast. “We’ve never had one come back after lunch.” — Bob Goehring, grapes farmer in California who is re-engineering his vineyards so they can be harvested by machines
“There is a shortage of ready, willing and able agricultural workers. It’s a crisis. There is not a demographic in the United States that is willing to do the work. It’s hard, cold and dirty. We either will import our workers or we will import our food. It’s one or the other.” — Brandon Mallory, CEO of Agri-Placement Services
“The people I know are wonderful people. They care about their jobs. We trust them with our animals, for God’s sake. This is everything for us. This is our livelihood. If we were to lose our export markets, it would have a huge, immediate impact on the food industry. Period. They’re not taking away jobs. They’re filling a void. They’re here for the same reasons our parents were. They’re here to provide a better life for themselves and their families.” — unnamed farmer in Vermont
“We have a high percentage of undocumented workers, many of whom have been here for years. They are dependable and they run the machinery and they are managers, and they are some of the most important people on those farm operations. People are very, very concerned because we are afraid our migrant workers won’t come, or these enforcement measures will result in much stricter enforcement and people will end up being pulled off of highways and out of the fields during the season.” — Larry Wooten, North Carolina Farm Bureau
In June, Trump floated a “temporary pass” for illegal aliens in farm and hotel work. The administration has mostly left the agriculture sector alone. Recently, however, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested more than 70 workers at an Omaha, Nebraska meat packing plant.
Other federal agents targeted cannabis farms north of Los Angeles, on the same day, June 11th. Multiple agents arrived at the Glass House Farms, a state-licensed cannabis facility which is considered illegal under federal law, in Camarillo. Federal authorities had a warrant for illegal employees. Another raid also occurred at another Glass House Farm in Carpinteria. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, Tricia MacLaughlin said investigators found nine unaccompanied migrant children there. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott said the facility was “under investigation for child labor violations.”
In addition, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said the FBI has offered a $50,000 award for information leading to the conviction of an unknown suspect who appeared to fire a pistol at federal law enforcement officers near Camarillo.
As the quotes above indicate, the migrants helping with agriculture and dairy farming are very important to the ranchers and farmers. Many of them are seasonal, but some have full time jobs on the farms and ranches and are supporting their families. They are honest and reliable people.
How does ICE know whether they’re documented workers or not?
That’s the question.
Harm could come to both the migrant employee and the employer who has crops that must be harvested or lost.
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins
Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins wants to legalize illegals working for big farms. Rollins comes by this desire naturally as she was the former Koch Brothers think-tank chief. Her dream is waves of government-approved cheap foreign labor flowing over the border, which matches the desires of her former employers.
Her roots are planted deep in Texas with former President George W. Bush and Texas Governor Rick Perry, neither of whom are considered conservatives. From 2003 to 2018, Rollins was president and CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), a Koch Brothers-funded think tank.
David Koch, who died in 2019, was on the boards of Earth watch Institute, an environmental, sustainability, Agenda 21 group, and the globalist new age Aspen Institute formerly headed by deceased new age environmentalist Maurice Strong,
the forerunner of Klaus Schwab’s World Economic Forum. Strong was the founder and first Secretary General of United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). He was the driving force behind the birth and imposition of UN Agenda 21, now the Great Reset.
The Kochs signed onto an amicus brief for the supreme court supporting gay rights and gay marriage. In 1980, David Koch backed a platform calling for the full legalization of abortion.
Their 2018 ad campaign for amnesty showed they promote open borders, mass immigration, and mass amnesty for illegal aliens, despite opposition from the American people. The ad promoted endless free trade, and foreign interventionism.
Koch money supported Andrew Cuomo as Governor of New York, who had publicly stated, “America has never been great.”
They also had a multi-year, multi-million-dollar campaign to tout free trade and oppose tariffs, defying President Trump’s goals.
Secretary Rollins’ agendas are those of David and Charles Koch.
For more on the privately held Koch Industries and their political activities, the following two articles, here and here, will inform and enlighten.
In 2013, Rollins said, “They are not going back to Mexico.” For Rollins and the TPPF, one key aspect of the immigration reform agenda was essential: a colossal expansion of a guest worker program for foreigners. She acknowledged her support for amnesty and for importing a greater number of foreign laborers into the U.S. in a revealing 2013 interview with Texas Monthly magazine. “Brooke Rollins: Time for Conservatives to Do the Right Thing.”
Donald Trump nominated Rollins as Secretary of Agriculture, a woman who wanted to legalize 11 million aliens a dozen years ago via Obama, and is now in charge of an agency that oversees a corporate Big Ag construct that employs untold millions of illegals today.
Brooke Rollins seeks to implant the Koch cheap labor economic vision inside the America First Trump White House. She is not on our side!
From Liberty Nation News, “We will have a 100 percent legal workforce [on America’s farms] very, very soon,” Rollins told reporters on July 4th while standing alongside Trump. “The President and I have consistently advanced a ‘Farmers First’ approach, recognizing that American households depend upon a stable and LEGAL agricultural workforce,” she wrote in a June 15th social media post.
Note the word in all caps, it’s like that for a reason!
When Donald Trump was running for President in 2016, the Koch brothers were brutally honest about how much they despised him. They had formed the GOP in their likeness for years and Trump could foil it. Instead, they weaseled their way into Trump’s first term with two of their people in top positions, Mike Pence as Vice-President and Kellyanne Conway as his campaign manager and later as counselor to the president. Conway and Pence brought in another 42 Koch people. Josh Pitcock was Pence’s first Chief of Staff. His wife, Katherine Seaman, worked for disgraced FBI Agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. It is alleged that this was the backdoor to the FBI eliminating General Michael T. Flynn as National Security Advisor.
Brooke Rollins is in position to gain the desires of her former employers, and Trump is all for it because he believes migrants will help American farmers. The Ag Secretary is planning a massively expanded guest worker program that grants blanket legal status to millions of foreign farm workers. It is one way to claim you have eradicated the illegal alien problem in the fields.
MAGA stalwarts must be wondering why Trump would ever get on board with such a thinly disguised ruse.
Once again, I have to ask, “Who vetted these nominees?”
Seasonal Migrant Workers
The United States allows migrant agricultural workers who come for specific harvests, but return home after the season. They are primarily overseen by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) which is now run by Lori Chavez DeRemer, a former republican congresswoman. DeRemer served only one term in congress and lost her reelection bid. She is a left of center republican who only voted with the constitution 33% of the time.
The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the DOL administers and enforces the law under the 1983 Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA). The act establishes employment standards for migrants. It assures fair and prompt wages, decent housing that meets safety and health standards, safe and insured transportation vehicles, written information for workers about employment terms and conditions as well as requiring employers and contractors to maintain accurate records.
The MSPA requires farm labor contractors to register with the DOL and obtain certificates of registration before engaging in any farm labor contracting. The employers who use the services of farm labor contractors are required to verify the contractor’s registration status.
There are a number of other federal laws in addition to the MSPA administered by the DOL which provide protections for ag workers.
- The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage and child labor standards, although some ag exemptions apply according to the USDA.
- The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) sets safety and health standards for most workers, including those in agriculture.
- The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) includes provisions addressing employment eligibility, verification, and non-discrimination, enforced by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Justice’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices, respectively.
Many states have their own specific laws and regulations for farm workers according to the USDA and in these cases, the law setting the higher standard is applied.
The MSPA has was amended in 1986. It provides the proper protections for these seasonal migrant workers and their families. It was originally established to address concerns about the treatment and working conditions of these laborers.
The MSPA helps foreign workers and their employers.
The Bracero Program was in effect from 1942-1964 for migrant labor. Bracero means, “one who uses his arms” or “manual laborer.” It was an agreement between the US and Mexico which allowed temporary workers from Mexico to assist in agricultural harvesting as well as working in the railroad industry. It provided a large workforce for agriculture, but faced criticism for its treatment of workers.
The H-2A visa program which allows foreign ag workers to come into the U.S. temporarily is essentially the modern-day equivalent of the Bracero program, but with protections for the migrant workers.
Despite the end of the Bracero Program in December of 1964, U.S. growers continued to rely heavily on Mexican migrant workers beyond the 1960s. Without oversight, exploitation of these workers often occurred, including low wages and exposure to dangerous chemicals.
The 1983 MSPA resulted from public outcry and increased awareness of the difficult conditions faced by migrant workers, including low wages and poor living conditions. The MSPA addressed these issues, for employees, employers and state laws.
Since 1942, we have had seasonal migrant workers who have come to America to help with agricultural harvesting, dairy farmers and ranchers. H-2A workers must not replace American worker jobs, and the contractors must show that the migrants are needed.
(In the late 70s, my daughter spent her summers in Indiana farm fields de-tasseling corn with her high school friends. They were up and out early and didn’t get home until late afternoon. They made good money for their hot and tiring work.)
We have had programs for seasonal foreign agricultural labor for 83 years. They come and work and when the harvest is over, they go home. No problem, as long as they are treated fairly and given a decent wage, housing, and are covered with insurance should an accident happen.
Problems arise however, when illegal aliens have crossed the border and are being paid cash under the table. These employees, whether temporary or permanent, would not be protected under the MSPA.
H-2A workers are allowed to stay employed, but their employment is tied to the specific employer and the temporary nature of the work they are authorized to perform. They are admitted to the U.S. for temporary or seasonal agricultural work and must generally leave after the authorized period of employment, which is usually no longer than one year, but can be extended up to a maximum of three years.
After reaching the 3-year limit, a worker must leave the U.S. for at least 60 days before being eligible to return as an H-2A nonimmigrant.
Larry Wooten of the North Carolina Farm Bureau says many of these workers excel at and care about their jobs and many want to become permanent employees. If both the employee and employer are in agreement, there should be a way to help them do that without having to leave for 60 days before they can return.
American citizenship is an option that should be considered. Many of these migrants become managers who are extremely valuable to the employer. There needs to be a way employers can help their employees permanently remain in America and in their employ.
Conclusion
Secretary Rollins must be made to understand that there will be no mass amnesty for those who broke the law and invaded our country. Neither will waves of government-approved cheap foreign labor flowing over the border for agricultural purposes be legalized and given amnesty.
Under President Reagan’s Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986, approximately 2.7 to 3 million people were granted amnesty and approved for permanent residence. Subsequent executive actions and congressional measures aimed at family reunification impacted a larger number of people by providing protection and a path to potential future legalization for families of those who received amnesty under IRCA.
In 2013, Congressman Steve King (R-IA) spoke to congress. He said that three million people “received amnesty” under the 1986 law. To that number, he added an
additional five people for each newly legalized person, to reflect those legalized under family reunification policies. That meant an additional 15 million people.
The number of foreign agricultural workers, particularly those employed through the
H-2A visa program, has been increasing.
Should Secretary Rollins succeed in “legalizing” migrant farm workers, amnesty will once again be granted to many millions.
This is a huge issue that needs to be hammered out in county commissions and state legislatures before the two parties in D.C. get involved.
©2025 Kelleigh Nelson. All rights reserved.
