Immigration Politics - Georgia: State Studying Immigration Bill Impact On Farms

State Studying Immigration Bill Impact On Farms - Politics News Story - WSB Atlanta: "The state Department of Agriculture will study the impact of a recently approved immigration reform bill on the Georgia’s multibillion dollar agricultural business. New Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black told Channel 2's Richard Elliot his study will be complete and truthful.

After much debate, lawmakers passed sweeping immigration reform last week. Gov. Nathan Deal announced Friday he would sign it into law.

The new law requires employers, including farmers, to use the government's E-Verify system to make sure all their workers are in the country legally.

Some in the agriculture industry balked at the plan, saying farmers use a lot of migrant workers and checking their immigration status would be costly and time consuming, and could scare away even legal workers.

Farmers are concerned it could lead to higher labor costs which, in turn, would translate into higher prices at the supermarket. They also worry the law could lead to a boycott of Georgia agriculture products."