Georgia immigration law worries farm owners
Signs point to an exodus in Vidalia onion country. Fliers on a Mexican storefront advertise free transportation for workers willing to pick jalapeños and banana peppers in Florida and blueberries in the Carolinas. Buying an outbound bus ticket now requires reservations.
Illegal immigrants and their families who harvest southeast Georgia’s trademarked sweet onions are considering leaving rather than risking deportation in the wake of a law signed by Gov. Nathan Deal targeting illegal workers.
While most states rejected immigration crackdowns this year, conservative Georgia and Utah passed comprehensive bills. With the ink barely dry on Georgia’s law, among the toughest in the country, the divisions between suburban voters and those in the countryside are again laid bare when it comes to immigration, even among people who line up on many other issues.