Immigration Policy and Immigrant Workers Impact on Georgia Peach Farming

The lack of federal immigration policy reform has caused an unstable environment for Georgia's farming industry. The power of the federal government to enact and enforce immigration policy eroded into an ongoing battle between federal and state legislation. In some cases, state legislation created problems. The Georgia Farm Bureau and other lobbyists have declared they are willing to work with elected officials to develop immigration policy that meets the needs of the general public and farmers. The problem that this study addressed was the effect that federal and state immigration policies have on Georgia's peach industry. Consensus exists in the President Obama Administration on the apparent "brokenness" of current immigration policy, and the need to build a new system. The research gathered for this qualitative case study was used to examine the effects of federal and state immigration policy on Georgia peach farming. The study was concentrated in middle Georgia, and five farms in this region require workers outside the local area to harvest peaches and manage the orchards during the offseason. A qualitative study was conducted using a case study design. Descriptive research questions were developed and used as a guide to observe and draw qualitative results regarding immigration policy impact on peach farming. The case study method was used to write a report on immigration policy's impact on peach farmers in Georgia. The major peach farms' owners or senior management were interviewed for this study and the farms included were: Dickey Farms, Fitzgerald Fruit Farms, Lane Southern Orchards, Pearson Farm, and Taylor Orchards.