Pubdate: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 Source: Wall Street Journal (US) Copyright: 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Contact: http://www.wsj.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487 Author: Shalini Ramachandran and Cameron McWhirter EX-CONS FLOATED AS LABORERS ATLANTA-Republican Gov. Nathan Deal suggested that unemployed people on probation fill thousands of jobs that farmers say have been left vacant by laborers frightened off by Georgia's tough new immigration law. His suggestion, made Tuesday, came as the state released a survey showing a shortage of about 11,000 farm laborers at the beginning of the harvest season for many crops. The new law, set to go into effect July 1, requires businesses with 10 employees or more to use a federal database to ensure employees are legally allowed to work in the U.S. It also gives police more authority to investigate suspected illegal immigrants. Several industry groups in the state, including farming, poultry, construction and tourism, lobbied against the new law's passage. Many farmers also say they oppose the probationer idea. Barbara Lawson, co-owner of a farm in southwest Georgia, said farmers "would be scared to death to let ex-convicts work on their farms" because of their criminal past. A total of 233 farmers, polled from 76 of Georgia's 159 counties, responded to the state's voluntary survey about labor shortages. According to a another survey by the Georgia Agribusiness Council, 46% of respondents said they were experiencing labor shortages and their losses could total $300 million this year if some crops aren't harvested. The governor said Tuesday that "the agriculture industry is the No. 1 economic engine in Georgia, and it is my sincere hope to find viable and law-abiding solutions to the current problem our farmers face." Mr. Deal said he had asked the state's Department of Corrections to work with the Department of Agriculture to identify probationers who might be able to toil in the fields. Many of the state's 100,000 probationers are unemployed, he said. "I believe this would be a great partial solution," he said. Probationers have been used in the past for agricultural work, but "this is the first time we've done something to this scale," according to Kristen Stancil, spokeswoman for the corrections agency. State agriculture, labor and corrections officials are working on a pilot program in which three farms in southwest Georgia would use probationers, said Commissioner Gary Black. The exact timing, pay and other details of the voluntary program for probationers are still being worked out, he said. "It's incumbent upon us to pursue anything that's close to feasible," Mr. Black said. D.A. King, president of the Dustin Inman Society, an anti-illegal immigrant group, said he favored the probation proposal, and also noted that farmers could hire immigrant laborers through federal guest-worker programs. "Once you have paid your penalty for violation of a crime, you should have an even shot at employment," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D