Producers are desperate in the absence of labor for the harvest of the fruit and several risk hiring illegal workers. "Do you prefer to win some problems or go bankrupt?", They defend themselves.

President Donald Trump's restrictive immigration policies are causing concern among blueberry producers in the United States.

Bill Mortellite, the third generation of his family that sows cranberries in Hammonton, New Jersey - self-described "The Blueberry World Capital", typically needs a few 125 workers to harvest his 240 acres farm. This year however, he believes he will be lucky if he manages to find 10 collectors because many people are concerned about Trump's harsh speech about immigration and do not want to risk working in the blueberry fields of New Jersey.

The restrictions of the Trump administration "They are going to push us out of business", said Morterllite, whose operation is called Blueberry Bill Farms.

New Jersey is the fifth largest producer in the US and generated sales of US $ 79.5 million in 2014 (the most up-to-date data available). The job is particularly risky for the state's berry farmers because most of their crops disappear from the fresh market. They prefer berries to be handpicked as the machines tend to sweep up unripe green beans along with blue candies, which has a negative impact on their sales and profits.

Mortellite said that in the face of the potential lack of labor, he has purchased a mechanical harvester. "We have three 'strikes' in front of us. The weather is not good. The market is not good and the government's policy is not positive "he said.

As in other parts of the US, much of the labor for the fields that New Jersey producers hire comes from Mexico, as Americans do not show interest in such a strenuous job.

The blueberry season in New Jersey begins in June and lasts an average of four weeks. Now the producers are trying to reach agreements with the contractors to provide immigrant workers for the harvest season.

"They (the producers) are worried because they will not have enough people", explained Tim Wetherbee, director of the Blueberry Consultative Industrial Council in New Jersey and sales manager of Diamond Blueberry. "Every day it's more complicated to put a team in the field".

According to the US Department of Agriculture, about 50% of agricultural workers in that country lack legal authorization to work. However, independent entities point out that the ratio actually reaches 60% or more. The picture is further complicated by the increasing use of fraudulent documents.

Penalties for hiring an undocumented worker can be severe, with fines up to US $ 16.000 for "conscientiously hiring" a worker who is illegally in the US. Minor technical faults, such as not having the papers of the visa in order, can cause fines of US $ 1.000 for each employee.

"We are very cautious with that. Workers must have their proper documents ... If they catch you with an illegal, you're getting into trouble ", said Wetherbee.

Even so, that is a risk that some producers are willing to take. As pointed out by a producer who asked to remain anonymous, «We are so desperate for labor that we accept what we find and allow them to work. We are going bankrupt. “Would you rather get into trouble or go bankrupt?”.

Source: cbsnews.com