Some Californians are scrambling to get their identification and work documents in order by January 20. As Kirby Davis reports, they are immigrants—concerned about President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign promise to deport some 11 million undocumented people…
Immigrants in California are gathering their documents in anticipation of the new president’s swearing-in on January 20. But given the Golden State’s economic dependence on immigrants to meet labor needs, their advocates say it’s unlikely President-elect Donald Trump will carry out plans to deport 11 million undocumented people. Some experts think worker roundups are unlikely, given how dependent the economy is on immigrant labor. California’s lucrative agribusiness is structured around low-wage immigrants—and Steve Suppan at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy says having to replace them with higher-paid workers could throw farm profits out of whack.
“Let’s say you take the average wage up to $15 an hour, and you include benefits. That changes the pricing structure of agriculture, and then it becomes questionable whether, for example, the confined animal-feed operation business model is viable.”
For the most part, California has been welcoming to its 2.4 million undocumented immigrants—with a pathway for obtaining driver’s licenses, health care through Medi-Cal, and college scholarships.
Now, there’s a proposal by Democratic state lawmakers for a fund to help cover legal fees in deportation disputes.
Given the powerful influence of the farm lobby, it may succeed in keeping its workforce in place, in California and across the country. But Suppan does think some deportations will happen, perhaps as a show of force by the new administration. “There are going to be, definitely, some fairly spectacular roundups, at least of the type that will show, you know, ‘victory for America’—the immigrant-deportation variation of the ‘Carrier saving 700 jobs.’ So, I expect to see a fair amount of public-relations outreach concerning migrants.”
Some California communities are already bracing for the possibility. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors votes in January on creating a $10 million fund for immigrant legal defense. Santa Clara County is also looking into the idea.
CALIFORNIA IMMIGRANTS SCRAMBLING TO GET DOCUMENTS IN ORDER
