so far i ve been picking oranges for three hours. i can honestly tell you it does not get easier as the day goes on. for so-called unskilled labor, it s a lot tougher than it looks. that s two down. lots more to go. i m not just the worst picker in the field today. i m also the only american citizen. every single worker here with me today is a foreign citizen on an h-2a visa. but h-2a is unpopular with most employers. in fact, only 4% of businesses that can use it do so. riverfront packing is the largest grapefruit distributor in florida, and they don t participate in the program. we have an adequate local workforce that we have not been forced into or pushed into participating with the h-2a program. like many business as they find the regulations that come with h-2a burdensome. the housing is a cost. the transportation to get them to and from, and sometimes they don t stay.
with h-2a burdensome. the housing is a cost. the transportation to get them to and from, and sometimes they don t stay. i think it was noble effort, but we need to recognize that it s a much broader issue. we don t really know the level of illegal immigrants working here. do we have everybody here properly documented? and do we meet the letter of the law? absolutely. but as i was told once when i asked this question at a seminar, well, what if i see a document that i m not sure is legal. the question i got is are you an immigration officer? if you question that, you could be subject to discrimination charges. i think if all the undocumented workers were all to be deported, the people that think food comes from the grocery store would be in for a rude awakening. and in 2011, alabama and georgia made an effort to do just that. crack down on all the undocumented immigrants in the workforce. they did wit a campaign of tough
participating with the h-2a program. like many business as they find the regulations that come with h-2a burdensome. the housing is a cost. the transportation to get them to and from, and sometimes they don t stay. i think it was noble effort, but we need to recognize that it s a much broader issue. we don t really know the level of illegal immigrants working here. do we have everybody here properly documented? and do we meet the letter of the law? absolutely. but as i was told once when i asked this question at a seminar, well, what if i see a document that i m not sure is legal. the question i got is are you an immigration officer? if you question that, you could be subject to discrimination charges. i think if all the undocumented workers were all to be deported, the people that think food comes from the grocery store would be in for a rude awakening. and in 2011, alabama and georgia made an effort to do just that.
so far i ve been picking oranges for three hours. i can honestly tell you it does not get easier as the day goes on. for so-called unskilled labor, it s a lot tougher than it looks. that s two down. lots more to go. i m not just the worst picker in the field today. i m also the only american citizen. every single worker here with me today is a foreign citizen on an h-2a visa. but h-2a is unpopular with most employers. in fact, only 4% of businesses that can use it do so. riverfront packing is the largest grapefruit distributor in florida, and they don t participate in the program. we have an adequate local workforce that we have not been forced into or pushed into participating with the h-2a program. like many business as they find the regulations that come with h-2a burdensome. the housing is a cost. the transportation to get them