Farmers reeling from raids

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October 10, 2006

Many 'scared to death' of government agencies after recent immigration arrests

BY MIRANDA VAGG/vaggm@gnnewspaper.com The Journal-Register Tue Oct 10, 2006, 12:18 PM EDT

Crops are rotting as a consequence of recent immigration raids in Orleans, Niagara, Monroe and Genesee counties.

“I’m probably going to end up leaving $2 million worth of crop in the field and it’s adding up every day,” said Maureen Torrey, who owns Torrey Farms, located in Orleans, Niagara and Genesee counties.

Local farmers are up in arms over the raids, with many feeling threatened and fearful of their own government.

Torrey likened her recent experience with immigration officials to war.

“It’s a dirty job and we stand next to them, working together, and then to see these people chased, you feel like it’s Germany all over again,” she said.

Watching those she works with every day get taken away is like having a death in the family, Torrey added.

“Immigration has been going into places of business without warrants and taking people, so people were leaving the area and moving to places where they felt safer,” she said.

Early Wednesday morning the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the Department of Homeland Security, barged into Niagara County homes owned by Torrey and did about $500 in damage, breaking down a door and ultimately trashing the area, Torrey said. While INS officials could not be reached for comment, Torrey said she was told that agents received a report from the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department accusing one of her workers of an alleged assault.

“We have such a large number of people working in this area doing construction and farming,” she said. “But immigration seems to be targeting agriculture.”

Immigration has gotten increased funding from Congress, but Congress will not pass a guest worker bill, Torrey said. For the last 11 years she has been steadfast in her work to get the bill passed.

“Just from what I heard on the news, it’s just crazy,” said Jeff Baker of Baker Farms in Ransomville, Niagara County. “They’re killing all of us, (I.N.S.) is.”

After the raid at Torrey Farms, word spread through Latin American work camps like wildfire and workers fled their homes, Baker said. Farms that previously had enough workers to harvest crops for the rest of the growing season, now are left with little help in the fields.

Torrey said September began with a 50 percent shortage in labor on fruit and vegetable farms in the area. Other farmers were significantly affected by the labor deficiency as well.

“We had 16 guys and the next day we had none,” Baker said.

Robin Roberts’ farm, Lynn-ette & Sons in Kent, went from having 117 workers down to a mere 31. His crops are based on a crew of 100 workers.

After having farmed land in Orleans County for 35 years, “this year has been a year from hell,” Roberts said.

There are substantial labor problems for most farmers in the area, but many tend to solve that issue by taking on migrant workers, according to Baker.

“It makes a lot more sense to import workers than to import food,” Torrey said.

Torrey said she was raided once before, in 1997. The workers at Torrey Farms are referred to her by the NYS Department of Labor.

With migrant workers being taken from farms, thousands of bushels of apples at Baker Farms and much of Roberts’ squash and cabbage crop are going to go to waste.

In a financial report to be released later this week it is stated that Western New York will lose more than $300 million in farming revenue this year because of the amount of unharvested crop.

In a normal season, Baker is able to bring in close to $140 per binful of apples. His return this year will be significantly lower because half the crop is on the ground in the orchard.

“A lot of these people come to us and as we look at the paperwork we believe they’re legal,” Roberts said. “If (I.N.S.) has a warrant or something for a person, we ask them to come to us and we will get that individual, but instead they go in and take everyone.”

Roberts and other local growers have requested a meeting with Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to discuss the reasons why the government is targeting agriculture workers.

“We’ve had to deal with weather and now Immigration,” Roberts said.

With uncooperative weather and random invasions by I.N.S., farms throughout the region are feeling the repercussions.

“We’re racing against weather now,” Torrey said. “There’s been a lot of stuff left in the field.”

Contact Miranda Vagg at (585) 798-1400, Ext. 2225.

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