Well, when one reads the article closely, there is no mention of Mexicans or illegals operating combines.
The whole issue this article is focusing upon is the lack of H2A visas for customer cutters to bring in young men from Oz, NZ, South Africa, etc.
Thanks to the new CDL regs, I don’t think high school kids can run the trucks requiring Hazmat certs for fuel, etc. Thanks to the idiots in Congress for that wrinkle.
The “comprehensive immigration bill” was set to raise the quotas of ag work visas - that’s what the article is getting at, I think.
I’d work on one of those custom crews, if they could find a way to keep the Mrs. happy. Lots of older guys would have a blast being on a custom crew going up and down the Plains in a custom crew. But there’s this little hitch tho: If the Mrs. ain’t happy, ain’t no one happy. The custom cutters need to figure out a way to keep the wives of older guys happy, then they’d have no trouble finding guys to run combines and grain carts up and down the plains.
There it is in just two sentences -- the law has interfered with the natural operation of the market place, Econ 101, if you will. In 1973 and again in 1975, I was one of those HS/College kids from the Plains taking the grand adventure of working on a custom harvest crew. It is a learning experience in a very unique world of work that more young people should experience had our Washington masters not been looking out for the serfs.