Posted on 01/18/2007 7:23:24 AM PST by television is just wrong
SANGER, Calif. - The deep freeze that has destroyed some $1 billion worth of California citrus could also mean months of unemployment for thousands of farmworkers, packers and truck drivers during what is already a lean season for those who work in agriculture, industry officials say. ADVERTISEMENT
The bad news was already trickling in Wednesday at Harris Farms, a 7,000-acre operation about 25 miles east of Fresno.
"All of my sisters-in-law, my mother-in-law and my brother-in-law just got laid off from the packing sheds," said Valentino Mexicano, a ranch hand whose family of five lives in nearby Sanger. He and other members of the farm's night crew were just getting off a 15-hour shift monitoring miles of orange and lemon trees.
"It's bad," he said. "People are just going to be looking for little jobs to survive because the bills won't wait."
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the state would offer assistance to all affected laborers, regardless of their immigration status.
"Everyone will get help," he said Tuesday. "We are not here collecting immigration statuses."
The governor's press secretary, Aaron McLear, elaborated on Schwarzenegger's comment Wednesday, saying the promised assistance for illegal immigrants included food programs, temporary housing, low-income energy assistance and other social services — but not unemployment insurance.
Is this what the terminator wanted our tax dollars for?
Yeah.
what am I missing here?
Go home...let Mexico give you welfare benefits.
And now will the "jobless" please go back ?
Somehow, I don't think this conversation was communicated to the reporter without an interpreter.
sigh....
*Waiting for Bush and global warming to get the inevitable blame for this*
I hear there's less freezing further south.
I feel bad for the truckers, most of whom are probably American.
Why would they with Arnie giving them freebie$.
snow in the santa monica mountains, probably a little warmer going down toward San Diego, but still darn cold from what we are used to.
Harris Ranch sure hope they still serve their fabulous steaks.
Not every Mexican is illegal.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the state would offer assistance to all affected laborers, regardless of their immigration status.
So now even if they can't/won't 'do the jobs Americans won't do' we will take care of them.
This gets more insane daily.
FEMA's already got the debit cards and 18 months of housing in a hotel ready to go.
Whats left of this year's Texas citrus just became more valuable but that won't last long.
He should be required to say "the taxpayers" instead, so his great generosity would look like the rip-off it is.
Next floods, then land slides, then drought, the Kali story,,stay tuned.
Just wait untill the price of citrus goes up. The Rats will be calling for hearings on the record profits of "Big Orange Juice"!!!
I meant there's less freezing temperatures in Mexico and other countries South/Central America and these displaced workers could find better opportunities there.
A few years ago, we stayed at their hotel which of course highlighted their great steaks...a very nice meal and evening on the way from Santa Clarita to Reno.
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