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FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - Nisei Farmers League President Manuel Cunha spoke to YourCentralValley.com Thursday, expressing his concerns that the Ventura County raids could bring consequences to the farming community, adjacent successful the Central Valley.
YourCentralValley.com's sister station, KTLA, reports dozens of farmworkers were detained during a reported migration raid successful Ventura County connected Thursday. The raid took spot astir 11 a.m. astatine Glass House, located astatine 645 Laguna Rd. successful Camarillo.
Agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security were besides reportedly seen deploying teardrop state astatine protesters successful the area.
Cunha told YourCentralValley.com that this incidental would wounded farmers successful Ventura County and surrounding areas, since workers would beryllium acrophobic of going to work, perchance for days aft Thursday, and the perishable items successful those farms would not beryllium picked up.
He adds that an cognition similar it successful the Central Valley would beryllium "devastating," detailing that if farmers are frightened disconnected from going to enactment owed to raids, the consequences would not lone impact the workers and farmers themselves, but besides the nation.
Cunha says the monetary nonaccomplishment successful gross would beryllium of billions of dollars, and assorted agrarian communities would beryllium affected.
"When you deed by the San Joaquin Valley, which is the biggest breadbasket of the satellite and you travel and bash that with 1 of our farms, it's over. The economical harm is huge," helium said. "There won't beryllium thing connected the shelves."
In the lawsuit of an migration raid, Cunha said farmers request to travel the law, and if they are presented with a warrant, they request to comply; however, helium criticized the beingness of subject instrumentality successful Ventura County's migration raid, and said has ne'er seen thing similar it before.
"If you person a atrocious apple, travel successful with a warrant and instrumentality them retired - but to bring armor, to bring subject instrumentality onto the farm... I've ne'er seen that. Ever," helium said. "I don't recognize it."
Cunha says farmers necessitate workers to implicit the form I-9, utilized to verify the individuality and employment authorization of those hired successful the United States - however, owed to increasing concerns successful the farming community, farmers are doing "everything to marque definite helium oregon her idiosyncratic is safe," including giving retired reddish cards stating what to bash and not do.
Ultimately, Cunha says helium hopes the Trump medication and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recognize the increasing concerns of the farming community.
"I would anticipation that the president's extremity is not to destruct the farmers due to the fact that of what they are doing with individuals thereafter," helium said. "The happening I inquire of the president [is to] travel what you person said by saying you were going to support oregon let these workers to beryllium here, past contented a enactment authorization card. You promised the American husbandman who voted for you and their families that you were going to support farmworkers who provender the satellite and provender this country."
