So far, it doesn’t appear that onion growers in Washington or Oregon have experienced significant disruptions from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents looking for undocumented immigrants under President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, but that doesn’t mean employers and workers themselves aren’t concerned.
Securing adequate labor is “getting harder and harder with ICE and deportations,” says Steve Brennan, salesman for Seattle-based F.C. Bloxom Co.
“It’s going to trickle down,” he says. “It started in the field, it’s going to trickle to the shed, and it’s going to trickle to transportation and drivers, too.”
F.C. Bloxom Co. hadn’t been visited by ICE agents as of mid-July, he says, but some nearby cherry orchards had. Even workers with valid visas were being detained while their paperwork was verified, he says. “People are a little scared.”
ICE had not bothered Iona, Idaho-based Eagle Eye Produce either, says Joe Ange, director of onion sales.
“We work with a consistent and reliable labor force that returns year after year,” Ange explains. “We have been staying up to date on recent immigration developments, and while labor is always a consideration in agriculture, we have not experienced any disruptions this season.”
The same was true at Castoldi’s family farm in Walla Walla, Wash., says Nathan Castoldi, an owner and operator.
“We have a good, solid crew and have had no [ICE] issues at this time,” he says, adding that things could change in the future.
