As of late June, potato growers and immigrant workers in Washington and Oregon had not experienced any major disruptions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
There might have been some “small-scale, isolated incidents,” says Chris Voigt, executive director of the Moses Lake-based Washington Potato Commission, but “there haven’t been any large-scale raids of any farming or packing operations.”
There’s some concern about potential ICE actions in the state, Voigt says, adding that the potato industry is fortunate in that it is highly mechanized. Unlike growers of fruits and other vegetables, he explains, “We don’t require a lot of hand labor during our harvest.”
Voigt says he heard that President Donald Trump wants to protect agriculture workers, and Voigt would like to see some type of work visa program that will “protect good employees.”
“We’re excited that (Trump) brought it up, and we hope that he acts on it soon,” he says.
At Eagle Eye Produce, Idaho Falls, Idaho, Coleman Oswald, director of sales, says no ICE agents had shown up at Del Christensen & Sons in Mattawa, Wash., whose potatoes Eagle Eye markets.
“We’re obviously concerned about it because we need that labor to harvest our crops and to run our packinghouses,” Oswald says. “It’s a concern we have, but we haven’t had any adverse or bad experiences with it to this point.”
He says he was optimistic after hearing that the agriculture industry had expressed its concerns to Trump, and that the president had committed to address the situation.
“I don’t know what will come of that, but I do know farmers are worried about it, it has been raised up, and the government is responding saying they’ll find a way to make sure we don’t lose our labor force,” Oswald says.
“At least (Trump) sees it as an issue and said he’d do something about it,” he adds.
Ryan Schols, chief financial officer for Burlington, Wash.-based Norman Nelson Inc., says he has not heard of any local enforcement actions, however, he sees the need for a solution to the immigration quagmire.
“It’s necessary for our country to have solutions for immigration so that we can be sure we have a consistent work force,” Schols says.
In Oregon, Gary Roth, executive director of the Portland-based Oregon Potato Commission, says he was not aware of any immigration-related work disruptions so far at Oregon potato facilities.
