NMPF hoping for caution on immigration reform

ARLINGTON, Va. — Jaime Castaneda, executive vice president of policy development and strategy for the National Milk Producers Federation, looks at the issue of immigration reform through the eyes of an immigrant.

He sees the challenge of immigration reform also as someone who has worked on the issue, including helping to craft different federal proposals, for much of his 25 years at NMPF.

“It is something that — when somebody asks you, what is it that you haven’t accomplished — and to me, that is the only thing I have not accomplished, that once and for all we have a clear system that allows foreign workers to come and fill jobs that are not being filled by Americans,” Castaneda said.

With President Donald Trump in office for a second term, his promises about mass deportations of undocumented immigrants have taken the center of the national political stage.

For the U.S. dairy industry, the renewed talk about immigration has brought concerns for foreign-born dairy industry workers, along with hope that Congress might finally take up and accomplish immigration reform.

Castaneda said he hopes Trump and members of Congress will take a practical approach.

“I do believe that the majority of Congress sees two things very clearly. We need to actually do something at the border. There is no doubt about it,” he said.

“I am myself an immigrant. You have to have a system of the rule of law that folks can actually come in to do the work that most Americans don’t want to do.”

Policy Matters

Castaneda said he believes that Congress can address the issues that have been presented over immigration and deportations in a way that addresses specific concerns without punishing those who have followed the law.

“I think you can address the border and address illegal immigration and address the concerns with criminals and everything that President Trump has noted, as well as actually providing a safe opportunity for foreign workers to provide food for America, because that is the reality,” he said.

According to the NMPF, “immigrant labor accounts for 51% of all dairy labor, and dairies that employ immigrant labor produce 79% of the U.S. milk supply.”

Furthermore, the NMPF says “if the U.S. dairy industry lost its foreign-born workforce, it would nearly double retail milk prices and cost the total U.S. economy more than $32 billion.”

Pointing out that many dairy farms offer higher wages plus benefits like housing, Castaneda challenged the idea that foreign-born U.S. dairy workers are taking jobs away from native-born Americans.

“The reality is that not a lot of Americans want to do that type of work. It is hard and very, very challenging to work with animals, with the hours, we all know how difficult it is,” he said.

Another part of the U.S. dairy farm story that isn’t being told is that foreign-born workers are not only vital to the industry, but many also are an integral part of the farm family.

“There are farmworkers in the dairy industry who have been with the same employer for 20 years — they are part of the family,” Castaneda said.

He said this is not the first time that the industry has faced challenges over immigration.

“This is not new for our industry. During previous administrations, we have had audits and even raids. During the Obama administration, we had very serious raids in certain farms and also in the poultry sector,” he said.

His message to farmers and farmworkers who are worried about the Trump administration’s actions on immigration is twofold.

“What we are saying to farmers and to farmworkers also is you need to make sure you have the proper documentation for your farmworkers. We are going to continue to work with the Trump administration to ensure that there is no disruption in the production of milk and dairy products here in the United States,” Castaneda said.