The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, said that the repercussions of the mass deportations threatened by the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, are a serious matter, since undocumented immigrants in the country represent a large labor force.
The official said the impact of mass deportations on food costs in California and across the country will be off the charts.
"The impact of mass deportation on the cost of food in this state and in this nation is beyond the pale. This is a serious matter," he said in a video posted on his Instagram account.
He noted that the vast majority of agricultural workers in the state are immigrants, and a high percentage of these are undocumented.
"When you look at farmworkers, the latest estimate, about half, are undocumented. About 90 percent have been in the state for years and years and years. They're not coming and going," he said.
In that regard, Newsom stressed that the deportation of immigrants has affected the construction industry in California like no other state.
He added that 13 percent of the country's inhabitants are undocumented, with a significantly higher number in California, having an impact on the cost of housing.
"This is serious business. President-elect Trump's mass deportation plans would drive up food costs, housing prices, construction and infrastructure, and much more in California and across the country," he wrote.
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee recently held a hearing to examine the potential effects of President-elect Donald Trump's planned mass deportations.
At the hearing, California Senator Alex Padilla, who is also the son of Mexican immigrants, said that while Democrats believe in the need for an orderly, secure and humane border, as well as taking coercive action against violent criminals, they are not in favor of mass deportations of immigrants who have not committed crimes and who are important to the country's economy.
"(Donald Trump) promised workplace raids to go after anyone who gets in his way, pushing an extremist agenda, as well as separating spouses and ripping children from their parents, citizen children of immigrant parents, sometimes undocumented. It's not just cruel. It's not just morally wrong," Padilla said.
The senator recalled that this past November was motivated by the high prices of food, housing and everything else.
"It is all of us, the American people, who will pay for extremism," he said, referring to the costs of hiring thousands of border patrol agents, ICE agents and building detention centers and prisons.
Undocumented immigrants make up nearly 15 percent of all construction workers and about half of the agricultural workforce.
“If you’re worried about housing costs, if you’re worried about food prices at the grocery store, you should pay attention, because if Stephen Miller could snap his fingers tomorrow and have his way, our annual GDP would fall by about 6.8 percent. Imagine all the losses, the Great Recession. And then the economy would continue to shrink, another 2 1/2 points. What does that mean for people at home? Simple. Any industry with a significant percentage of undocumented immigrants is going to have a harder time finding workers,” he explained.
He also pointed out that business leaders and entrepreneurs have been talking for years about their struggle to find sufficient labor.
“Stores will have a harder time keeping shelves stocked. And, yes, prices will go up and up and up. So, hello America! Get ready for a higher grocery bill when you make next year’s Thanksgiving dinner or next year’s Christmas dinner, and if you’ve been saving for years and years to try to buy your first home, get ready to wait even longer, because construction will slow down and prices will go up,” he said.
"So the next time we hear Republicans say they support Trump's plan to deport waves of undocumented immigrants, let's be clear about what that means. Higher prices for American families," he said.
In this regard, he said that the American economy needs agricultural workers, construction workers, hospitality workers, and transportation workers, as well as health care workers and students and innovators who help keep this country prosperous.
"We do not need the mass deportations that the political rhetoric of this campaign cycle has brought us, and we certainly do not need the uncertainty, fear and loss that we will feel for years to come," he concluded.
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