Apr 7, 2007
Washington Growers Praise Visit from Mexico’s President

Mexican President Vicente Fox’s visit to Yakima, Wash., was seen as a step in the right direction by many of the area’s produce growers.

“Overall, it was a good visit and a good thing for President Fox to be here. I think it was the first time a head of state had visited Yakima since Teddy Roosevelt,” said Mike Gempler, executive director for Yakima-based Washington Growers League.

The visit at the end of May was part of a four-day U.S. tour that stopped in Utah, California and Washington state. Fox toured G&G Orchards, the state’s only Hispanic-owned orchard, where he addressed a crowd made up mostly of Hispanics.

As the June cherry harvest geared up in the valley, the labor situation was stable, but growers were optimistic that the Mexican president’s visit would lead to long-term stability.

“It was very positive for him to visit,” said Frank Davis, vice president of sales and marketing for Borton & Sons, Yakima.

“We’re very interested in how this is rolled out,” he said. “We want resolution.”

Gempler said the visit was a good sign that Fox was willing to work with President George W. Bush to create an organized immigration plan. The Washington Growers League supports a three-pronged reform, Gempler said. There have to be safe borders, while protecting the economy, while being fair to people. All three have to be addressed at once, or there are risks to the economy, he said. He wanted to be careful that the country does not slip into a recession because of illegal immigration enforcement.

“We support having a legal workforce, and reform that gets us there,” he said. “At some point, you have to have a solution and get to a point where they have a way to win.”

Gempler said there was a mixed reaction by the general public. About 80 people showed up along Fox’s motorcade route to protest, according to reports.

“It’s a more divisive issue than it’s been in the past,” said Miles Kohl, executive director for the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association. He said there have always been people on both sides of the debate, but “the divide between those two is getting greater.”

“Fox really focused his remarks on people from Mexico that are here,” he said. “People already had an emotional reaction to this issue. That only exacerbated their feelings.”

To combat some of the misconceptions out there, Gempler said that members of the industry had been writing editorials and speaking to the public, but there was no formal education initiative.

“There’s a perception that growers are knowingly employing illegal aliens,” he said.

But that’s not the case at all. He said growers do what they can to make sure their workers are here legally.

“The way the system is now, employers do check documents and do only employ people with documents that appear to be genuine,” he said.

While the future of any type of immigration reform is uncertain as the Senate and House of Representatives reconcile similar bills, Yakima Valley growers know that, at least for this harvest, their fruit won’t rot in the fields and orchards.

“In the short term, we’ll be fine,” Yakima grower, Davis, said.




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