PHOENIX – The U.S. Department of Labor is formally acknowledging that the crackdown on illegal immigration could result in fewer farm workers and boost food prices even higher.

In a new filing in the Federal Register, the agency acknowledges that labor costs already are a major component of the cost of agriculture, “especially in the specialty crop sectors where relatively large numbers of illegal aliens are employed.’’

“Given the scale, speed and investment in the federal government’s efforts to enforce immigration laws and restore the integrity of the U.S. border, the Department concludes that there will be significant labor market effects in the agricultural sector, which has long been pushed to depend on a workforce with a high proportion of illegal aliens,’’ the filing states.

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