Anna Paciorek, a Chester County-based immigration attorney, has warned that increased immigration crackdowns under the incoming administration could have a devastating impact on both the mushroom industry in Kennett Square and the region itself, writes Ivey Dejesus for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"I would say that the bulk of the people that work for the mushroom houses are people who have either lived here for a long time and have worked in the mushroom houses for a long time, and that's what they've done, or people that are new immigrants who don't have visas, who have some ability to work because of the fact that they filed for asylum, and it's been long enough for them to get a work permit," said Paciorek.
The mushroom industry fuels an annual $764 million in revenue in Pennsylvania. According to Paciorek, the workforce ranges from authorized workers to undocumented immigrants.
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