BAKERSFIELD, California, Nov 2 (Reuters) – The White House ordered the stepped-up immigration enforcement that swept through Kern County farm towns in October, a Reuters investigation reported Oct. 31. The news agency said the push was organized early in the month, citing an internal email it obtained and an unnamed U.S. official.

For Valley growers, the report adds new context to a story that has already disrupted crews at the tail end of harvest and the start of citrus season. The same day the report ran, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced new state-funded legal help aimed specifically at farmworkers and their families.

What the numbers show

Bakersfield saw roughly a tenfold jump in arrests. Early federal figures reported by Reuters put the city at about one immigration arrest per day through most of this year, rising to close to 10 per day by the middle of October. In Wasco, at least seven people were taken into custody over a span of several days.

This operation has looked different from the mass deployments seen in other U.S. cities. Agents have worked in small units that shift between Valley communities, according to the Reuters story as carried by GV Wire. Arrests have happened in everyday public places, from residential streets and shopping centers to fuel stops and school areas, based on video, court filings and accounts from attorneys and advocates.

By the United Farm Workers’ count, the number of farmworkers detained statewide in the past few weeks is in the hundreds. The union’s national vice president, Elizabeth Strater, told Reuters that few of those detained had any criminal history, and that some held valid work permits. The Ag Center News has not independently confirmed the union’s figures.

What it has meant on the farm

Growers were feeling the effects well before the Reuters report. Reporting by the California Farm Bureau’s Ag Alert found that crews thinned out across parts of the Valley in October. Some workers were arrested, while many others chose not to come in.

Kevin Herman, who runs The Specialty Crop Co. in Madera, told Ag Alert he lost about half of a fig harvest crew of around 100 for longer than a week. That shortfall kept him from filling all of his fresh fig orders. In Firebaugh, Joe Del Bosque said several workers stayed away from his cantaloupe harvest once agents were reported in the area.

Labor contractor Joe Garcia, who heads the California Farmworker Foundation and employs roughly 3,000 people through his Delano company, told Ag Alert he had not heard of agents going onto farms. Even so, arrests in town and a flood of unconfirmed sighting reports on social media were enough to keep some of his crew members home. No one has yet put a statewide number on lost production.

State expands legal help for farmworkers

Farmworkers and their families will have access to no-cost legal representation through a new state-funded effort, the governor’s office said Oct. 31. The state plans to deliver it alongside the outreach groups that already work with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, so help reaches workers through organizations they know.

The state did not break out a separate cost for the farmworker effort. It falls under $193 million set aside in this year’s budget for immigration services, which state officials describe as more than twice the previous funding for legal aid. The package also pays for an “attorney of the day” pilot in immigration court and for legal fellows assigned to rural parts of the state.

The state says its network of regional hubs and nonprofit providers has reached more than 500,000 Californians to date.

The federal position and the election backdrop

Homeland Security officials would not talk about the California operations with Reuters, saying it could put officers at risk, and the White House stood by the president’s immigration agenda. Earlier in October, Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) said federal officials told him the Valley enforcement was aimed at people with outstanding warrants or criminal records.

The arrests are concentrated in the 22nd Congressional District, which includes Bakersfield and is 73% Latino, according to Reuters. Valadao faces Democrat Randy Villegas in Tuesday’s election, and Reuters reported polls showing a close race.

Villegas has argued the timing of the arrests is meant to scare Latino residents ahead of the vote. Valadao has acknowledged that families in the district are anxious and has asked the administration to concentrate on people who pose a danger to the community. Jason Giannelli, a Kern County farmer backing Valadao, told Reuters he thinks agents are going after serious criminals. No evidence has been made public showing the operation was designed to affect turnout.

Resources for growers and workers

The state has posted several resources for workers, families and employers:

• Immigration help hub: Know-your-rights information, legal service contacts and family preparedness resources at ca.gov/immigration.
• Free legal services: A directory of state-funded nonprofit immigration legal providers from the California Department of Social Services.
• For workers: Labor rights information from the California Workers’ Outreach Project.
• For employers: Immigration resources for businesses from the state’s business office.

Growers with questions about their obligations if agents arrive at a worksite should contact their county farm bureau or an employment attorney.