HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0125.083 2024-2026County Council
25 Aupuni Street,
Hilo, HI 96720
Re: Opposition to Resolution 74-25
Intergovernmental Agreements
The Synergistic Hawaii Agriculture Council (SHAC) stands opposed to Resolution 74-25.
Our consortium represents 1,500 agribusinesses, from growers to processors and shippers.
Agriculture is a key element in the economy and history of the island. For many decades,
immigrants have provided the workforce necessary to feed our residents and provide
incomes throughout the value chain.
The current climate of immigration enforcement has a strong deterrent effect on
agribusiness' need to keep legal workers on our farms. Fear of raids has already
proven to deter workers from showing up to work and exacerbates the devastating labor
shortages we currently suffer under. Crops that go unpicked directly equate to taxes
unpaid to the County.
While we fully support the effort to dislodge the few criminal aliens from our country, our
farmworkers are, almost without exception, not criminals. In fact, the agricultural
workforce is almost uniformly stable, generating economic activity and giving back to their
neighborhoods and communities. The ill-conceived concept of rooting out these men and
women and sending them to their home countries is destructive on many fronts.
We strongly believe that HPD should not assist Federal agencies, such as ICE, on any
activities related to immigration.
Mahalo,
Suzanne Shriner
Administrator
An Equal Opportunity Cooperator
Hawaii Coffee Association • Hawaii Floriculture and Nursery Association
Hawaii Macadamia Nut Association , Howai'i Papaya IndustryAssociatiolc(, M"TA.
1901feawe Street Suite 2.5, Hilo, Hawaii 96720
info@SHACHawoi'i.org