When a Florida Farmer-Legislator Turned Against Immigration, the Consequences Were Severe. But Not for Him.
When a Florida Farmer-Legislator Turned Against Immigration, the Consequences Were Severe. But Not for Him.
For a lawmaker’s political career and his farm, a federal visa program was a lifeline. For a young father trying to meet his son’s mounting medical needs, that same lifeline failed him.
Not long after the severity of Isaac’s condition came to light, Garcia began to listen more closely to other young men in the towns near his: There was a way to travel back and forth between the U.S. and Mexico for work, a way to do it that seemed safe.
The solution for Garcia was a visa program that promised to benefit both migrating workers in desperate need of livable wages and U.S. farms in desperate need of affordable labor. But in many ways, the benefits to workers have remained a gamble while for farmers they're guaranteed.
Roth is a special case, a farmer and also a politician. For him, the program has served a dual purpose. It’s ensured the success of his business by providing a steady stream of workers. And it’s made it easier for him to adopt a harsher political stance on immigration at a time when he feels his party demands it.
Roth didn’t mention it on the House floor or broadcast it to his constituents, but the visa program made his farm mostly impervious to the provisions he’d rallied against in the past. As anxiety gripped communities of undocumented people and many of their employers, Roth Farms was going to be just fine.
The visa program turned out to be a lifeline for Roth. When Garcia reached for that same lifeline, it failed him.
