So involved were they harvesting the world-famous sweet Vidalia onions fields of Georgia that scant attention was given to the numerous vans laden with INS officers encircling the workers. By the time they took notice and the yell “Migra” was heard followed by the stampede to get away, it was too late. The scene was repeated in the Vidalia onion packing houses. Then the screams were heard, not from the illegal immigrant onion harvesters, from the growers. Their voice reached Georgia’s congressional delegation and their senators – then the INS was yelled at and they quickly stopped enforcing the law.

Who won – the illegal immigrants or the Georgia onion growers?

The raids and INS deal to stop them were in early May 1998. INS would stop raids, and the growers agreed to negotiate a long-term hiring practice agreement soon after the growing and shipping season. The prior INS raids were in 1995, but these were after the season when most field hands had already departed, the only ones left were those still waiting for their final pay, so those raids had no effect on the political powerful growers.

Vidalia’s sweet onions are grown on 15,000 acres in 20 counties by 215 onion growers, generating $95 million representing 13 percent of Georgia’s vegetable cash receipts. Direct employment is at 10,000, which includes up to 5,000 Mexican harvesters and packers.

But the sale of that vegetable is only a part of the Sweet Vidalia Onion industry. There is the income and employment generated by the onion harvest festivals bringing thousands of tourists to local hotels/motels, restaurants and gift-shops. There are the hundreds of Vidalia onion recipe books, dips, sauces, creams, salad dressings along with the dozens of onion shaped tourist trinkets – to the tune of an industry reaping $225 million a year.

There are two essential things necessary for Georgia’s Vidalia, sweet onions – good weather and Mexican workers.

After the 1995 INS raids, growers looked into obtaining H-2A visas for their needed temporary Mexican agricultural labor force. In 1997 they dropped the idea because the Department of Labor that has to certify there is a shortage of domestic workers available, and sets the guidelines as to pay and other benefits for foreign temporary workers, insisted growers had to pay “prevailing wage” that the Agriculture Department pegged at 80 cents per 50-pound bag (about $6 per hour), while growers insisted it was 75 cents per 60-pound bag, and they didn’t want to pay for temporary housing for the workers.

Georgia is not alone, in Oregon and Washington, famous for their apples, similar occurrences have taken place with the same end results. Growers exert pressure on their elected official, who in turn exerted pressure on the then INS.

While the issue of amnesty and/or guest worker program is debated everywhere but in the halls of Congress, and Mexico is pressuring for a “whole enchilada” deal – amnesty and guest worker program – the usage of the already existing “guest worker program” on the books is ignored. Why?

According to growers the H-2A temporary agricultural worker visa program is too cumbersome and the benefits it calls for too expensive. Growers want to set the prevailing wage index; they don’t want to incur transportation for workers, temporary housing and basic medical insurance benefits. So as long as they are able to have their federal elected officials put a stop to immigration law enforcement during growing and harvesting seasons – why comply?

Plus they have easily hidden behind the mask of “not knowing” those working in their fields may be undocumented workers by using labor contractors, a sort of temporary employment agency. The labor contractors do the hiring and rent the labor to the growers providing the alibi.

However, in 1998, after the INS scare, Georgia’s late Sen. Paul Coverdell crafted with the INS a legal worker program for the sweet onion growers.

The program enabled undocumented workers to register with federal authorities, and with growers’ cooperation receive industry-standard income and even apply for Georgia driver’s license, and as “legal immigrants” under this program they would pay corresponding state and federal taxes.

Obviously, there are those who say – giving concessions to illegals encourages more illegal immigration. But the fact is the concessions were not made to those workers – they were made to the growers.

So the ultimate question we must ponder is – if this solution was possible in a given region, why is it not possible throughout the country?

Patrick Osio Jr. is the editor of www.HispanicVista.com. Readers may send him e-mail at hispanicvistacox.net.