In Our Backyard: Immigration and Texas Voices
Texas Monthly interviews 16 Texans from across the political spectrum about immigration, labor, the Dream Act, and race.
Rogelio Núñez • 58
Núñez is the executive director of Harlingen’s Casa de Proyecto Libertad, a nonprofit that works to defend the rights of immigrants.
In the past twenty years, the immigrants I’ve met are not criminals and do not take advantage of government programs. They have endured immense suffering, making their way across the river just to take low-paying jobs. Many are exploited, some of the women are sexually assaulted, and yet still they come—all because of the hope of finding a better life for themselves and their families. Do we really want to turn our backs on these hardworking people?
J Carnes • 35
Carnes is the president of Winter Garden Produce, a grower of broccoli, cabbage, and onions in Uvalde.
Right now I’ve got about fifteen employees, because we’re just planting, but in the spring I’ll hire up to five hundred. We harvest the crop, clean it, grade it, box it, cool it, and sell it to H-E-B, Walmart, and others. We rely mostly on contract labor. In 2005 we lost about $250,000 in crops because we couldn’t find enough labor. In this business, we’ve got the weather and the changing market prices to deal with; one problem we shouldn’t have is a shortage of labor, especially if we’re playing by the rules. Employer sanctions will only hurt those who really contribute to the state’s economic output.