OMG. Sometimes (often) we forget.

In my state, whenever one ventures out a bit from "civilization", and sometimes not very far if at all, it's common to encounter farm workers providing manual labor to the husbandry or harvesting of food or other plant crops (like flowers). Or dealing with tree and vine crops. As sushipup and others know well.

Not people driving air conditioned tractors harvesting grains, but rather often bent over, working the dirt with tools or with their hands. It's filthy, often heavy, backbreaking, under-appreciated and underpaid essential hard work, done out in the elements all day.

This is why I think it’s almost criminal to waste food. These workers are living hard lives doing backbreaking hard labor. The very least we can all do is make a personal effort to ensure their hard work isn’t a wasted effort.

A coworker years ago had previously worked in a slaughterhouse. He became a vegetarian. There is no romance in food production.

Hard and dirty work will always be hard and dirty. I'm more than willing to pay more for food if the extra money will in part flow through to them to provide much improved pay and benefits.

I also wish we'd stop harrassing these nice people. Very few are criminals, very few are gang members, and certainly none of the ones seen working hard throughhout our communities are other than respectful and law abiding people filling essential jobs and trying to support themselves and their families . We need them to be here.

If a new "bracero program" as in years past would help, then why hasn't one been put into place?

I have always and always will appreciate our farm workers.

This is why I think it’s almost criminal to waste food.

KW, yes. I work with children of immigrants. They do work that my own children have never had to consider. My partner spent his career in federal law enforcement. He has deterred so much illegal activity that he understands the difference between a gang-banger slinging dope and other illegal activity (hint: it's not just Hispanics that commit illegal activity--some of the worst crimes committed to citizens of this country go under the radar because they don't fit the "illegal immigrant" narrative), and a person who wants to labor honestly in this country to better his/her family.

The lack of empathy for immigrant labor in this country is appalling and a disgrace.

As a teacher, I had the same experiences as Cyn427 . Appreciative parents, and interested, good students. Many did not speak much English.

I ran a hospitality business for many years and immigrants (some legal, some not) helped the business thrive. They were paid standard market wages but worked hard and without complaint even on the hot diificult days. Even with joy. I was able to help a few get to the point of citizenship.

I’m relieved that I don’t have employees anymore so I’m not responsible for their safety. The adjacent county just recently detained many through random traffic stops.

How we don’t all realize that we are sabotaging ourselves by terrorizing them.

See “A Day Without A Mexican”

Outpatientzero, there have been thousands of people who are in the US legally who have been wrongfully detained by ICE.

Outpatientzero, even the Cato Institute has criticized ICE. I’m not inclined to provide you with sources that you can find yourself. Turn off Fox News, do your own (unbiased) research, and try to refrain from your mental gymnastics.

It isn't legal for unidentified or masked agents to pick up ANY person in the United States without stating the reason and holding them without allowing them to tell their framilies or representatives where they are and under what conditions they are confined. It isn't legal to fly people out of the country to be incarcerated in foreign countries willy nilly.

I have friends who live in Orlando. They're originally from Bogota, Colombia. She works for a company that is a subcontractor to the Federal government. He owns and is the principal and managing broker of a commercial real estate company. His company employs 14 people. They've been U.S citizens for 35 years.

Last year, one of his employees disappeared for two weeks. They had no idea what happened to him. His family didn't either. This person was also from Bogota and has lived in the US for 23 years and is a US citizen.

After a couple weeks he returned to work. The story he told was horrifying. He'd been grabbed by ICE and thrown into a dark van. He kept trying to tell them he was a US citizen and could prove it. The ICE agents weren't interested in verifying his ID or legal status. He was taken to a building that had cells constructed inside. He was put in a cell and barely fed. Eventually he was released.

Last year in October, my friends in Orlando left their jobs and moved to Portugal. They are legal citizens of this country as is the person in his office. They got too afraid to go out in public. They started carrying their passports and 35 year old citizenship papers.

So outpaientzero, it doesn't matter if you have done all the right things, are a US citizen, and are a contributing member of society, etc, if you have brown skin and brown eyes, you're the target demographic that gets captured and deported. Thankfully the person in my friend's office wasn't deported somewhere, but the risk was there. These aren't the people that the administration said they were going after. Criminals, people who never try to obtain citizenship, yes. But law abiding people, no. The administration is just targeting anyone who has brown skin and brown eyes. The person in my friends office - his life and that of his family were massively disrupted. He could have been deported to a country he'd never been to.

Edited to add - my friends will return to the US when they feel safe. Probably when this corrupt administration is long gone.

20 million illegal immigrants did not enter the country during B iden’s administration. Now, you're simply spreading misinformation.