Deportations Will Hurt Farmers

Part of the success of Georgia’s economy is due to its diversity. Nearly every sector is flourishing and vibrant, with local and state investments in building stock and transportation infrastructure furthering expansions and coveted site locations from the mountains to the coast.

You’ll hear a lot of enthusiasm in the section, and occasional references to “challenges.” The truth weighing on the minds of most in the state’s business community concerns the potential double impact of tariffs and deportations, primarily on the state’s largest industry – agriculture.

The threat to agriculture and agribusiness hurts most because the state has made strides to improve the economies of rural regions that have been shrinking for decades. Just as they’re finding their feet, setbacks in the agriculture industry will hurt rural Georgia the most.

Nearly a third of the state consists of farmland (10 million acres). It represents $83.6 billion of the state’s total revenue. The state famously lost an estimated $300 million in “rotting crops” when it passed its own immigration restrictions in 2011, and seasonal workers stayed home. The recent loss to the state’s agriculture and timber industry by Hurricane Helene was estimated at $5.5 billion. Roughly half of forest exports from Georgia go to Canada, Mexico and China.

Photo credit: Bishnu Sarangi

Approximately 60% of the state’s agriculture employment consists of seasonal immigrants working the fields. Thanks to H2-A labor visas, these are not necessarily illegal immigrants. But based on the lessons of 2011, these seasonal workers may stay home if spooked by deportation camps or strict immigration policies. Prior to the establishment of H2-A, this worker population was less reliable, and some believe this community won’t be targeted – yet.

But an estimated 40% of the nation’s farmworkers are not legally authorized to work in the U.S. That the wholesale deportation of this population will negatively affect state revenues and local economies seems a foregone conclusion.

The threat extends globally when you consider Georgia’s role in feeding the world. Grocery prices will likely spike and disrupt global markets, and our ability to export goods to countries that depend on us for food will also be affected.

Georgia has a huge poultry industry – much of it built on the work of immigrants, legal and otherwise – that has seen massive growth since regaining access to the China market in 2019. Nearly a third of all the poultry exported from the U.S. comes from Georgia and reaches 120 countries, according to Greg Tyler, president and CEO of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council. Exports have helped stabilize our farming communities in the face of ecological challenges from storms and drought.

Georgia’s rural communities have also benefited from nonagricultural economic activity related to sustainable energy. The specter of an Inflation Reduction Act clawback could cool innovation and investment that have kept the state’s broader economy humming. Solar farms in particular have flourished in rural Georgia. As of June 2024 there were 250 solar companies that had invested $6.5 billion and created 5,382 jobs. Often these farms benefit adjacent agriculture uses by providing new transmission lines, and even improving surrounding land sales prices by 4% on average. Many timber companies rely on biofuels exports.

Deportations would likely be a huge boon to the human trafficking market, which has demonstrated a real presence in Georgia, as well as to the “prison town” phenomenon that has beset rural Georgia communities for decades. Children left behind by deported parents – as well as housemates who will no longer be able to afford rent – could increase gang recruitment, spike homelessness and strain social services beyond their limits.

Maybe there’s a plan B somewhere, and I hope I’m wrong about the impact of this flurry of populist policies on Georgia.

Other industries face danger from the twin threats of tariffs and deportations. But farms are not just our largest industry, they are an integral part of Georgia’s culture. They need our help, and protection for Georgia farmers – including permanent funding for relief from disasters that will inevitably increase as we roll back climate policies – remains vital to our future economic prosperity.