Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) spoke with KBAK Bakersfield’s Michael Patterson to discuss his recent visit with local farmers and members of the United Farm Workers in the Central Valley.
Watch the full video of the interview here.
Key Excerpts:
On supporting California farmers in the Senate:
Patterson: But amidst the flurry of executive orders and reforms, Schiff says he’s been focusing on the Central Valley. Recently, meeting with citrus farmers in Bakersfield to talk with them about water issues and looming tariffs that could significantly impact business.
Schiff: I think the primary concern for citrus farmers is if these tariffs go into effect again. They still haven’t recaptured the market share they lost the first time Trump tariffs went into effect four years ago. We also need to make sure that if those tariffs go fully in force, that resources come back to these farmers in California to help make them whole.
Patterson: Schiff, a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, believes his assignment there will give California farmers a bigger voice at the table if a federal bailout for farmers is enacted.
On the potential rising prices for families due to Trump’s mass deportation plans:
Patterson: […] While talking about agriculture, Schiff also touched on recent immigration enforcement operations that have expanded since Trump took office, and conversations he’s had with people impacted by them in Kern County.
Schiff: I sat down with folks who have worked in the fields for 10 or 20 or 25 years, and they described how their husband was stopped at an intersection and deported a short time thereafter. The administration said they were going to be deporting violent criminals, but the folks that I talked to, none of them had a criminal record of any kind.
Patterson: Schiff worries that Trump’s threat of mass deportation will have negative consequences for the agricultural industry.
Schiff: Their deportation is going to mean fewer labor, higher prices. And if the administration promised the lower food prices, it’ll have exactly the opposite effect, and I think it already has.
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