It could affect the state's Vidalia onion crop, which needs intense labor for planting and harvesting. The vegetables can be bruised or damaged by machines.
Farmworker Alfredo Perez says he arrived illegally from Mexico three years ago. He travels between Florida, Michigan and Georgia working on farms. He says he'll think twice about coming back to Georgia because of the new law.
Farmer Delbert Bland is one of the largest sweet-onion growers in the country. His farmworkers get visas allowing them to legally enter the country. But he's worried that if local police enforce immigration laws, it could scare off even legal Latino workers.
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Fieldworkers pick onion bulbs on a Vidalia onion farm in Lyons earlier this week. Concern that new legislation meant to bar illegal immigrants from the workforce and giving local police increased enforcement powers will scare away Mexican laborers. (
http://accesswdun.com/article/2011/5/238825