Bert Lemkes, co-owner of Van Wingerden Intl., Mills River, NC, testified April 17 before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and En-
forcement. The subcommittee was holding a hearing on the E-Verify program, and identity theft issues. Lemkes’ growing operation, which employs 350
people at peak season, is using the federal E-Verify program and has learned first-hand of the challenges it poses for agricultural employers. Lemkes cautioned Sub-
committee members that making E-Verify mandatory without broader reforms could have the opposite of its intended effect, since false documents that feature a le-
gitimate name and Social Security number routinely clear the EVerify system now. It would also deprive greenhouses, nurseries, and farms of much of
their labor force. Most of Lemkes’ testimony, though, focused on the need for Congress to create a viable and practical visa program for agricultural workers desperately needed by farmers across the country. “This spring … had us experiencing terrible problems finding help for our busiest shipping season. When I get the question ‘how does E-Verify work for you?’ my answer is: ‘Those that are willing to do the work often fail the system, but many of those that pass the system, fail to do the work.’” “This latest in a series of E-Verify hearings signals a renewed push for passage of mandatory EVerify legislation,” said Craig Regelbrugge, vice president of government relations for the American Nursery & Landscape Association and co-chairman of the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform. “Agriculture has been clear to E-Verify proponents: EVerify will decimate American agriculture unless you give us a market based and practical visa program to address the farm labor crisis,” Regelbrugge added. Lemkes emphasized this very point, telling Congress, “To put this in an agriculture picture — they are the cart and the horse. The cart can’t move without the horse, and they need to be in the right sequence.”
Page 19 - Section B • COUNTRY FOLKS GROWER • June 2012
Greenhouse grower calls on House subcommittee to address agricultural labor crisis