Sure, labor (illegal and otherwise) is “only” 10% of the farms’ operating costs. But at the packers it’s higher…and the majority of short-haul trucking in and out of the Valley is done by immigrants these days. That’s just CA’s agriculture industry…think about the entire hotel and F&B industry in CA — labor is a much higher % of their costs, direct or otherwise. Likewise construction. There is no doubt there would be significant upward pressure on wages in the near-term if illegal aliens are prosecuted and / or repatriated.
