10 Oct 2011
The Economic Reality Of Tough Immigration Laws
""Since this law went in to effect, I've had a total 11 people that were Americans come and ask for work," Boatwright says. "A total of one of those actually came back the next day." That one worker picked about four boxes of tomatoes before leaving the field and quitting, Boatwright says. He says picking crops in the fields is a specialized skill that Americans just aren't accustomed to doing. If Boatwright were to raise his wages in order to attract workers, he'd have to also raise the prices of his tomatoes. A price hike would not allow him to compete with the lower prices of tomatoes from neighboring states without tough immigration laws."