{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.tillis.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/thom-in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=2716B97E-9F71-4E7F-A1B5-D3670C480EEF", "Sen. Thom Tillis talks immigration with Iredell farmers", "2017-12-11", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "NC", "Thom Tillis", "T000476", "www.tillis.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sen. Thom Tillis made a stop at Rocky Creek Dairy farm Monday morning to address concerns about a primary source of labor in the agriculture industry -- immigrants.  \u00a0  Tillis, dressed in a suit and tie, joked that he would have worn more casual clothes to the North Iredell farm if he didn\u2019t have a meeting in D.C. after his visit.  \u00a0  The first-term senator told Dr. Ben Shelton, owner of Rocky Creek, and others that getting congressional support for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) legislation is a priority.  \u00a0  DACA, a federal program enacted by the Obama administration in 2012 and partially rescinded by the Trump administration in September, allows people who were brought to the United States illegally as children -- known as \"Dreamers\" -- the right to live and work here with a permit. Several DACA-like bills are now in Congress.  \u00a0  According to the National Agricultural Workers Survey and the Washington Post, 77 percent of farm workers are foreign born or crossed a border to work in the United States.  \u00a0  Tillis, a Republican, toured Rocky Creek's facilities before meeting with about 30 area farmers and N.C. Farm Bureau employees to discuss issues. A Tillis representative told a Record & Landmark reporter that members of the media were not allowed to sit in on the meeting to allow farmers to have \"candid conversations\" with the senator.  \u00a0  Afterward, Tillis told the newspaper that the farmers voiced common concerns about immigration reform.  \u00a0  \u201cTheir future survival really depends on whether or not we get it right,\" Tillis said. \"There are millions of positions that can only be filled by guest workers because first off we are at a high rate of employment, but we simply do not have people at these farm operations lining up. If we don\u2019t start recognizing this industry and our ability to grow food ... we (will) rely on other countries to provide. That is not a place the United States wants to be.\u201d  \u00a0  It's simply difficult to find people to work on a farm, said Doug Holland, president of the farm bureau.  \u00a0  \u201cYou have to have that desire and that ability to work and I think we\u2019ve lost that in Americans today,\u201d Holland said. \u201cYou talk to kids coming out of school today and they are looking for that job making a pile of money. They don\u2019t realize you got to start out somewhere here and work your way up. It is not starting out at the top.\u201d  \u00a0  Meeting with the senator gave Holland some hope, he said.  \u00a0  \u201cI think he gets it and if we can educate him then we can educate those around him,\" Holland said. \"It goes out from here and he\u2019s told the guys in there today, \u2018I need your help educating North Carolina\u2019s congressional district.' If we can get our representatives across the state ... to understand this, it makes his job a lot easier.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0  \u00a0  John Allen, Shiloh Nursery owner, said he appreciates the attention Tillis has paid to the labor problem farmers are facing.  \u00a0  \u201cI think Senator Tillis' intentions are awesome and I really appreciate the investment he\u2019s put in it,\u201d Allen said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been trying to get a fix for this for a long time. It\u2019s a significant problem and the thing about it is these people contribute to our community, they contribute with tax money, they are renting property and a lot of people don\u2019t realize they are paying taxes.\u201d  \u00a0  Creating a more accessible way for immigrants to register for a visa or participate in a work program could be a key solution to the problem, Allen said.  \u00a0  \u201cI\u2019ve heard a lot of people say, \u2018Why don\u2019t they just go and get legal?\u2019 It is not just hard, it is not possible. It does not exist,\u201d Allen said. \u201cAt least give them a way to get legal so they can live a reasonable life.\u201d\r\n\r\nRead the article here.\r\n\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.tillis.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/thom-in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=2716B97E-9F71-4E7F-A1B5-D3670C480EEF"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.292558154091239, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}