Saturday, April 29, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Agricultural “stoop labor” is a form of slave labor. And it has been practiced for by American agriculture since the end of actual slave labor after the Civil War.
Illegal immigrants, augmented by government-arranged seasonal entry of non-citizens, have provided such stoop labor to keep wages to a bare minimum, and the prices of many of our foods cheap.
The economic lessons of slavery were well learned in this country. Until a machine can be developed that can do it, make sure manual wages are minimized. Read “The Grapes of Wrath” and you will understand the plight and victimization of the undocumented in American agriculture.
