Idaho dairies keep tabson immigration overhaul debate

TWIN FALLS (AP) - As lawmakers in Congress begin debating an overhaul to the nation's immigration system, Idaho's dairy producers are taking note and hoping for changes that make it easier to manage and recruit a migrant workforce.

For Gem state dairy producers and processers, the interest in immigration changes is simple: Idaho dairies depend on foreign workers, including those working illegally, according to a story published Tuesday in the Times-News.

Earlier this year, Bob Naerebout of the Idaho Dairymen's Association estimated that at least 75 percent of dairy workers in the state are immigrants, while U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho went even further, putting his estimate at 90 percent.

The focus in Idaho is policy changes in the way visas are issued to migrant workers. In the agriculture industry, employers rely on migrant workers with temporary, seasonal visas, which are typically issued to workers in states from spring through the fall harvest. Workers issued those H-2A visas are then expected to return home.

But Idaho's dairy industry doesn't operate on the season clock, dairy officials say.

A bill was introduced in the Senate last month includes an opportunity for immigrant dairy workers already in the country to get a work visa.