Growers Torn On Court's Illegal Immigration Ruling

By Greenhouse Grower staff|June 7, 2011

Greenhouse floriculture is torn over the Supreme Court’s ruling last month that upheld an Arizona law imposing sanctions against businesses that hire illegal immigrants.

In a GreenhouseGrower.com poll taken over the last week, 42 percent of those polled say they “absolutely agree” with the Supreme Court’s decision. Another 29.5 percent say they “absolutely do not” agree with the ruling, with 10.2 percent indicating they “somewhat agree,” 12.5 percent indicating they “don’t really agree” and 5.8 percent indicating they aren’t sure what to think.

As one anonymous reader wrote on GreenhouseGrower.com: “This law does not cover the main issue of illegal immigration. This law is just a patch to the whole system. The courts and legislatures do not know how to solve the problem and are using the E-verify to save face.”

Another reader shared a similar assessment: “I agree the illegal alien situation needs to be addressed. However, the answer is not to penalize the landscape, nurseries and garden centers, but to give these aliens some sort of legal-working status. The groups that push this issue obviously don’t realize there are very few American-born citizens that will do these jobs. Plus, the workers who are American citizens will be on unemployment when the businesses are forced to close.”

For more feedback from GreenhouseGrower.com readers, check out our original . Readers can also weigh in by taking last week’s poll and sharing their perspective on the ruling with Greenhouse Grower Editor Delilah Onofrey and Managing Editor Kevin Yanik.