The Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has announced that a Michigan diary farm and its owners have been fined $2.7 million for violating immigration laws by employing unauthorized workers. Over a period of about ten years, the farm employed about 70 unauthorized workers who provided false names and social security numbers. The owners apparently knew the workers were unauthorized and now face jail time in addition to the large fine.
Although farmers should not violate the law, it is difficult to understand how they can attract authorized workers to do the low paying and difficult work that Americans often refuse to do. Without changes in the immigration law, including the introduction of agriculture-oriented immigration bill, the United States and farmers will continue to have difficulty producing food without violating immigration laws.