For a number of decades, the USDA and the National Cotton Ginners published a summary of the cost of ginning. That survey and paper were published every three years. In the past few years, while the paper is published every three years, the NCGA and USDA are collecting data every year. They moved the survey to an online version (although paper is still available) and allow gins to use the tool to track their own data year after year.

The Southeast has been historically low in participation for this survey. So low, in fact, this year we risk not having our information included in the national data. We need YOUR help in getting our data to NCGA and USDA to get accurate data for the WHOLE country.

Recently I was contacted by a state legislator in one of our states. They are potentially forming a committee to look at the cost of insurance in their state. This legislator represents a rural district with a few gins in it and they wanted to know how the increase in insurance was affecting the cost to farmers. I had to poll a few gins I knew would put information together form me to give them accurate and real numbers. I couldn’t match that with other parts of the southeast because there’s very little data in the NCGA database.

Please take some time to fill out the survey. Once you create an account, you can stop and come back and fill it out piecemeal if you like. OR you can download a paper copy and send it to Harrison at the NCGA. The benefit of creating an account is that you are able to go back and look at your old data to see how things have changed over time.

We need your help. Go to www.cottonsurvey.org and begin the process. It will really help the industry as a whole. Individual gin’s information is kept confidential.

The Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA) has once again put together an outstanding Agricultural Labor Forum. This year’s forum will be held September 16 and 17 in Tifton, Georgia. This is a jam packed two days of information on H-2A, MSPA, Labor Housing, OSHA and much more.

If you’re interested, please follow the link below. The program has recently been posted and there are a lot of knowledgable speakers on the program. Thanks to Chris Butts and the crew at GFVGA for allowing us to invite our members to this very good ag labor conference.

https://www.georgiaaglaborforum.com

On August 21, Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, announced a pause of issuance of visas for commercial truck drivers. The pause is being done “to conduct a comprehensive and thorough review of screening and vetting protocols used to determine their qualifications for a U.S. visa,”.

This is following the video of the apparently illegal truck driver from India that obtained a CDL in California. He was unable to pass a 12 question English proficiency test and could not read or understand many road signs. As I understand it, he made an illegal U-Turn on the Florida turnpike causing a minivan to crash into and under the truck trailer killing all in the van.

This is about all we know… with the exception of a few news outlets that are reporting that the pause concerns H-2B, E-2 and EB-3 Visas. The State Department has not said whether or not H-2A visas are affected. We are hoping to hear more regarding clarification that H-2A visas won’t be held up under this pause soon.

Following a 2023 rule change, the Heavy Duty Truck Driver classification was no longer able to fall into the “Big Six” job classification for the application of the standard AEWR. Instead they needed to be split out onto separate contract and have the OEWS wage applied as AEWR. This puts these contracts in a bit of jeopardy under this pause. The State Department Officials may not know that there are Truck Drivers in the H-2A program….which is fine.

We also do not know what the outcome of the “comprehensive and thorough review” will look like. Does this mean a recommendation to change the visa programs in some way…It is possible that the drivers must pass a English Proficiency test before they can work for a US company… It may mean minor changes. It could be no changes at all.

Southeastern Cotton Ginners opposed the changes to the AEWR that split truck drivers out.

At this point we advise you proceed with the expectation that you’ll get your drivers but understand this can change quickly. It could mean additional screening at the consulate. Whatever happens, whether you’re bringing in drivers with the “Licencia Federal de Conductor” license or getting the drivers to obtain a CDL once they are here on H-2A visas, I would recommend working to get them as proficient in the basics of English as possible and make sure they understand and can explain road signs.

More to Come…..

There were quite a few changes to farm law contained in the One Big Beautiful Bill. To help navigate these changes the National Cotton Council (NCC) is holding several Farm Bill Education Meetings across the cotton belt over the next few weeks. While all the dates and locations are still getting firmed up, there will be at least 18 meetings in the Southeast. The list below is still tentative but I would mark your calendars to go to at least one. Please let your producers know about these meetings. Without good knowledge, farmers could leave money on the table and not make the best decisions.

IMMIGRATION RAID

In my last article, I discussed the more common type of immigration activity we would expect to see, the I-9 Audit. With the new administration, we’re seeing a lot of concern over the “raid”. Today, I will try to give you some insight in to the type of raids that you may see.

I will start by saying that I’m NOT an attorney nor is any of this legal advice. This is only intended to educate our members so they can prepare for an ICE or CBP visit. For this type of activity, the first step is to make sure you have competent legal counsel identified and know how to contact them.

The first thing to remember is that, as an employer, an immigration raid is just like any other regulatory activity in many respects. This means that the same preparation should be taken and procedures followed from an administrative standpoint. You will probably need to prepare your employees a bit differently, though.

Just like an Air Quality inspection, or a Wage and Hour investigation, or OSHA activity, these regulatory investigations go a lot better with a little bit of preparation. Have a designated person on site to handle the investigation. When multiple agents show up, it can be intimidating. Stay calm… you can delay a short period of time until the designated person can get there but not long.

You must be cooperative but know your rights. Know the difference between an administrative warrant and a judicial warrant. It makes a difference. Have a designated scribe. Someone will need to take notes. Write down the questions that were asked and by whom and the answers that were given. If possible you may be able to record the raid but don’t be uncooperative unless directed to by your attorney. Always have a designated employee accompany the ICE agents at all times.

Remember, a raid is conducted when ICE has probable cause to believe that immigration laws are being violated. This could be complaint driven, it could be I-9 audit driven, it could be ICE looking for a particular peron (most common). That probable cause will generate a warrant. They shouldn’t just enter a business and start asking random questions without a warrant.

Types of Warrants

Judicial Warrant – This is a warrant issued by a court. It will have the court name at the top of the document. These are the least common and typically have a named person they are going to arrest. Judicial warrant has been signed by a judge and has specific locations and conditions. Judicial warrants allow officers to enter private areas of the business and must be complied with as long as they stay within the parameters of the warrant. Read the warrant and get it to your attorney ASAP.

Administrative Warrant – Generally move vague but not always… they do not always require compliance and do not generally allow for the agents to enter private spaces in the business. They are normally on a I-200 or I-205 form issued by DHS or other government agency. Read the warrant and get it to your attorney ASAP… are you sensing a theme?

ICE agents can enter any public area with or without a judicial warrant. This means parking lots, public doors where your customers enter, etc. Make sure you make clear delineation between public and private spaces with Authorized Personnel Only or other signs that clearly distinguish the private from public areas.

Know your rights. Be Prepared. Stay Calm and have an attorney.

Prepare your employees. Many areas of the country have been organizing ‘know your rights’ groups to help employees find out how to handle stepped up ICE activity. Short of that the best advice is tell them not to run. They may be totally legal but fear of authority may make them think they need to exit the property. This will give ICE more reason to search harder.

Even if they don’t find what or who they’re looking for during the raid, they may set up near by (at the exits to the parking lot) and question employees on their way home. Get with your attorney to make sure they know their rights. Make sure they know what paperwork or copies of paperwork they should have readily available.

I would normally link a bunch of articles here but things change too quickly. The best advice is to use your google-fu and search for articles from qualified legal sources and attorneys. DO NOT TAKE AI GENERATED ADVICE. The time to look for these sources is TODAY… NOT WHEN ICE SHOWS UP. If you have an attorney discuss this with him or her TODAY. Have a plan. Unfortunately, we can’t make a plan for you on this one.

Give us a call if you have questions.
DSF

Last week we discussed the first steps of getting yourself ready for immigration activity. We really didn’t get into what happens with the actual visit or notice of inspection. That preparation is the self Audit. With increased immigration enforcement threat out there, the expectation at this point is that a business is most likely to get an I-9 investigation. What does that mean? First, we mentioned last week that you should conduct your own I-9 Audit.

You must keep the I-9’s for all employees for up to 3 years from the date of hire OR one year after they are terminated…whichever is later. The first thing to do is to go through the I-9’s and purge/or at least separate the records that are not required to be in your files. Only keep the forms you have to keep. That will save you time and confusion if you get an ICE Audit.

ICE will first send you a notice of the investigation and give you a three working day time to get your records together. During this time, contact your attorney or an attorney that specializes in immigration/employment law. Since you’ve already done your own audit, pulling the I-9’s won’t take long but they may also ask for payroll records and other employment records for their cross reference. This is where having the attorney on notice will help. Together you should be able to sort out what they need and are entitled to versus what you can push back on.

They may review the I-9s on your premises or require you to send them copies. Whatever you send them, keep records and copies of your own. Your attorney will help you figure that out as well.

What will happen next?

If ICE decides workers are not authorized to work, they will give you notice of which employees and allow the 10 days to provide work authorization. If they can’t provide authorization, then you must terminate them. You are allowed to ask for more time but recent stories have been that it has not been granted. 

The take always are….
1. Have a plan.
2. Have an attorney
3. Self Audit AHEAD of an I-9 Audit

Next… a bit on what a raid could look like.

Official ICE Guidance on Self Audits and Corrections

Three min video on this subject