The allure of immigrant labor

I have been pointing this out to people for some time. When you hire immigrants, legal or illegal, you get hard working adults, many of whom are trying to raise a family. They work under conditions and for less pay than the same kind of folks from America will work for.

Now that Alabama is determined to fill all of its agricultural jobs with citizens and legal immigrants, some farmers are discovering this.

Potato farmer Keith Smith saw most of his immigrant workers leave after Alabama's tough immigration law took effect, so he hired Americans. It hasn't worked out: Most show up late, work slower than seasoned farm hands and are ready to call it a day after lunch or by midafternoon. Some quit after a single day.

And from Georgia, which passed similar laws?

In south Georgia, Connie Horner has heard just about every reason unemployed Americans don't want to work on her blueberry farm. It's hot, the hours are long, the pay isn't enough and it's just plain hard.

"You can't find legal workers," Horner said. "Basically they last a day or two, literally."

I heard this over the years from other small businesses. Of course, one solution would be pay higher wages. But that seems to be anathema to all concerned, including the politicians who are determined to clean up the illegal alien mess.

be careful what you wish for.