Biggs Reiterates No Amnesty for Illegal Alien Farm Workers

Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ) reiterated the Trump Administration's insistence that illegal alien farm workers would not receive amnesty in a recent appearance on Fox Business's Bottom Line, saying it is unfair to legal immigrants.

Last week, President Donald Trump seemingly suggested that farmers employing illegal aliens could vouch for their continued stay. However, he and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said more recently that there will be no amnesty, and mass deportations will continue. 

Moreover, they suggested that able-bodied Medicaid recipients could fulfill the 80-hour monthly work requirement by working on farms.

Rep. Biggs agreed with the notion, saying, "Don't forget, we have lost 5 million foreign workers and gained more than 2 million American workers in the last few months. And that is what happens when you actually remove people from the country who are not supposed to be here. There should be no amnesty."

"The other thing that happens is," Rep. Biggs continued, "when you provide cheap labor, what happens is you obviate the need for automation and innovation."

One of the hosts asked a hypothetical: if any illegal aliens have been in the country for many years without committing any crime, and with a tight agricultural labor market, is there any way to accommodate them?

The Arizona Congressman countered by pointing out the following: "If you have a scarcity of labor, here, it is because we have provided massive welfare programs so people do not go out and work hard. Number two: if you start saying that, I want you to think what that means. They have violated the law. They violated a criminal law, and we are going to say, 'If you were here for a long enough time, we are going to grant you some kind of dispensation.'"

Biggs acknowledged this sounded authoritarian, but he emphasized that it was essentially the same as saying, "If you committed a crime 20 years ago if it is still within the statute of limitations, then we are going to say, 'Okay, no problem.'"

After all, he asked how this was equitable for those who have "gone through literal years and spent tens of thousands of dollars to gain legal citizenship and come in the right way. So you are going to say that it is equitable to come in here the wrong way, hide out, avoid capture, and that is going to work out for you better than those people that are spending 10-15 years in line, spending thousands of dollars? That is really inequitable, in my opinion."