McDonald wonders if he could even run his Andalusia cotton gin without the migrant workers who come into the state from Mexico — he said it’s hard to hire local workers for just a season, regardless of the wages.
“The situation we have without the migrants — it wouldn’t matter if we paid $7 or $37 an hour,” said McDonald, who has hired migrants for 12 years at Covington Gin Co. Inc., about 90 miles south of Montgomery.
He said it’s a job that doesn’t appeal to most Alabama workers.
“It’s a seasonal job with no benefits,” he said. “And we’re talking about something that makes a lot of economic difference to our operation.”
But some legislators say they can’t make an “economic difference” their main concern.
Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, is sponsoring the Immigration Reform Bill, which is being co-sponsored by 26 of the 35-member Senate. Beason is working to crack down on illegal immigration and wants to require that everyone working in Alabama show a state-issued ID to prove legal residency.
“It’s really sad that some of these businesses are willing to sacrifice the future of the state 10 to 15 years down the road just so they can make a dollar today,” he said. “They’ve said it over and over again in our meetings that they will hire anybody.”
State Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks said farmers don’t want to hire people who break the law, but he said a federal program needs to be in place that allows Alabama the ability to have more legalized workers.
“Anybody that breaks the law, or has broken the law, should be sent back across the border,” said Commissioner Ron Sparks.
But he said there needs to be more of an effort to help both employers needing seasonal work and the workers seeking it legally.

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