Voters in California's Central Valley, the agricultural center of the state, are grappling with the potential for mass deportations under President-elect Donald Trump, which could gut their workforce.
The Central Valley voted for Trump in November, a red bastion in a deep blue state, despite Trump's vow to deport undocumented immigrants, which make up half the state's agriculture workforce, Politico reported.
"To say it would have an impact on California would be an understatement," said Chris Reardon, vice president of policy advocacy at the industry group California Farm Bureau Federation.
Dave Puglia, the president and CEO of the Western Growers Association, told Politico farmers are in wait-and-see mode to see how the mass deportation plays out.
Trump's mass deportation plan will face numerous legal challenges and harsh resistance from California's Democrat leadership.
Puglia said to Politico he is advocating for a bill that would set up a new temporary worker visa program specifically for agriculture and create a pathway to citizenship for longtime undocumented farmworkers.
Neither Puglia nor Reardon would reveal to Politico whom they voted for.
The United Farm Workers said they will continue to advocate for workers.
"Anything that happens needs to first do right by the workforce that is here, the current workforce that has been feeding us for decades," said Antonio De Loera, communications director at the United Farm Workers, to Politico. "The main thing we're doing across the organization is trying to just reassure workers and empower workers so that they're not scared by this rhetoric into accepting working conditions that are dangerous."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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