In remarks at a public hearing on the coordination of county law enforcement and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 4th District Supervisor Peter Adam referred to an “utter breakdown of the rule of law” in describing illegal immigration in the U.S. Supervisior Adam also asserted that “people shouldn’t be here without permission, that is, illegally.” (See the video recording of the Sept. 22, 2015, Santa Barbara County Supervisors’ meeting at countyofsb.org/ceo/csbtv/media.sbc ; go to 3:29.)
Adam’s comments surprised me. No other county supervisor made such sweeping statements on illegal immigration at the public hearing. Employment of undocumented workers is common at large farms in Santa Barbara County. The pressing shortage of farm labor and resulting abundant availability of farm jobs draw undocumented workers and their families to places like Santa Barbara County.
And if there was one county supervisor who I thought would best grasp this situation, it was Adam who co-owns farming and produce packing businesses in our county (Adam Bros. Farming Inc., Adam Bros. Produce Sales Inc., and Red Diamond Cooling Inc.).
ICE certainly grasps this situation.
ICE Worksite Enforcement clearly states on its webpage that: “Employment is a primary driving force behind illegal immigration,” (ice.gov/factsheets/worksite).
In fact, ICE Worksite Enforcement targets employers of undocumented workers. Its most recent worksite enforcement report to Congress states: “In April 2009, the DHS [Department of Homeland Security]secretary issued guidance stating that ICE investigative resources would focus on the worksite enforcement program by performing criminal investigations and prosecuting employers who knowingly hire unauthorized workers as a means of targeting one of the root causes of illegal immigration.” (Worksite Enforcement FY 2014 Annual Report, March 3, 2015, page 2).
All this motivated me to submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to ICE to determine whether Adam Bros. Farming Inc. had been subjected to a worksite inspection, and whether some of its employees had been found to lack proper immigration documents.
ICE’s (Feb. 8, 2016) response to my FOIA inquiry surprised me more than Supervisor Adam’s remarks on illegal immigration, and stated in part:
“You have requested all records regarding Worksite Enforcement investigations, inspections, reviews, or audits pertaining to Adam Bros. Farming Inc., Adam Bros. Produce Sales Inc., and Red Diamond Cooling Inc.
Due to the open status of ongoing criminal investigations, ICE has determined that the information you are requesting is withholdable in its entirety pursuant to Title 5 U.S.C. § 552 (b)(7)(A). FOIA Exemption 7(A) protects from disclosure records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, the release of which could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings. ICE has determined that the information you are seeking relates to ongoing criminal law enforcement investigations.”
I will not criticize Supervisor Adam if his business has employed undocumented workers. In this regard, Adam’s farm is no different from many other large farms in Santa Barbara County that have little choice but to hire undocumented workers to get their crops planted, harvested, and shipped.
But unlike other farm owners, Adam is a high-ranking government official in Santa Barbara County. And in his capacity as a public official, Supervisor Adam should not articulate positions on undocumented residents that are so discordant with employment realities and practices at large farms in Santa Barbara County.
Instead, Adam should step up as a county supervisor and lead on immigration concerns that promote the interests of Santa Barbara County.
He should lead by helping Santa Barbara County residents understand that undocumented people are overwhelmingly hard-working, law-abiding, and contributing members of our communities, and essential to our regional economy.
He should lead by assuring his farm and packing operations are exemplary workplaces with fair compensation and treatment of laborers—and he should work to legally guarantee such compensation and treatment for all farmworkers across Santa Barbara County.
He should lead by publicly condemning the distorted discourse on immigrants and undocumented residents currently dominating several highly visible political campaigns in the United States.
And he should lead by advocating for a reformation of U.S. immigration policy that allows undocumented residents to live and work here, and provides them with a path to permanent residency and citizenship.
Scott Fina is a Santa Maria resident and one of four appellants who appeared before the Santa Maria City Council concerning the new ICE facility on West Century Street. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from Temple University in Philadelphia, where he taught courses in public policy analysis and state and local government.
This article appears in Mar 24-31, 2016.