Media Reaction
SOC315
May 17, 2012

Media Reaction
Labor shortages are making farmers think and consider what and how much they are willing to plant. With new crackdowns on illegal immigration farmers in Alabama have to scale back on their production because there aren’t enough hands to harvest the crops. Some farmers are changing their planting patterns and others are planting their crops in Tennessee because of the uncertainties the new law creates. Farmers in Alabama are transitioning to crops that can be harvested by machines like peanuts and cotton to make up for the uncertainty the new laws bring.
Historical Framework
Throughout the American history the Immigration policy has been and continues to be politically controversial. Immigration has been a part of the United States and building the diversifying of the United States since 1607, when the British made their first permanent settlement in Jamestown Virginia (Horn, 2011). The Native Americans who called the United States home had the land they called home taken away and were pushed to live on reservations (Richard T. Schaefer, University of Phoenix, 2011). Slavery was introduced in the United States during the 17th century and began the concept of people working long hours for little pay (Schaefer, 2011). In 1851 the Chinese began to immigrate to the United States in search of gold and the new job opportunities (Schaefer, 2011). In the 1860’s the railroad had the greatest demand for Chinese immigrants labor (Schaefer, 2011). The work the Chinese immigrants did on the railroad was a testament to the work they would do that no one else would do (Schaefer, 2011).
Mexican immigration is encouraged when the work is in demand, yet discouraged when Mexican workers are not wanted (Schaefer, 2011). Immigration from Mexico to the United States was not restricted until 1965; Mexicans are used for cheap labor in both the Mexico and in the United States (Schaefer, 2011). Mexicans immigrants are worked even as undocumented workers in the United States and are dismissed when they are judged as no longer being useful (Schaefer, 2011).

Refernces

Horn, J. (2011, December). The Founding of English