Lisa Rubin: Strawberries Are ‘Dying on the Vine’ Because Pickers Are Afraid to Come Out

EXCERPT:

RUBIN: "Absolutely. And I’ll give you a good example and one that we haven’t really talked about a lot. I’m from southern California originally, which is the strawberry growing capital of America, in Oxnard, California. When I was home last, there were stories about how all of this fruit was dying on the vine. And the reason it was dying was because the farm workers who were picking them were afraid to come out of the shadows. There’s no question that the dramatic uptick in law enforcement with respect to immigration is impacting the willingness of people to participate in the economy and to otherwise cooperate with immigration proceedings. You see that also in the case involving this judge in Milwaukee. The gentleman who she is allegedly accused of trying to help escape from the courthouse, he was there for a court hearing with respect to domestic violence charges. If people believe that they will be arrested, for example, in courthouses, when they show up to make routine appearances, either in immigration or in criminal proceedings, you’re not going to have people show up for things like naturalization interviews or criminal appearances. Either one, you’re going to see people not come."