So, how is it going in Alabama? Republican state Sen. Scott Beason met with about 50 growers, workers, brokers, and business people Monday at a tomato packing shed on Chandler Mountain in Northeast Alabama. They complained that the new law, which went to effect Thursday, scared off many of their migrant workers at harvest time.
"The tomatoes are rotting on the vine, and there is very little we can do," said Chad Smith, who farms tomatoes with his uncle, father, and brother.
"My position is to stay with the law as it is," Sen Beason told the farmers.
The farmers said that some of their workers may have been in the country illegally, but they are the only ones willing to do the work. http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/10/04/business-us-alabama-immigration-law_8715848.html
The agriculture of the state isn't the only area effected by this law. Schools state-wide have lost a significant number of Hispanic students.
There should be no surprise by the results of this new law. The State of Arizona suffered significant financial losses when they enacted a similar law, and nearby Georgia suffered similar crop losses after their law took effect.
Seems to me that unless you are of American Indian descent, you are the product of immigration at some point. Who of us, if born in poverty, wouldn't do all they could to make a better life for themselves and their family. And it's not like they are freeloaders. They work hard at jobs most citizens won't work for wages less than minimum wage, and do pay their fair share of sales tax. According to an article on thinkprogress.org, undocumented immigrants paid $130.3 million in state and local taxes in 2010. In the same article 2,285 students failed to show up for school.Schools are funded according to their attendance and many schools will suffer from this loss of students.
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