The recent crackdowns on illegal immigrants coming into the U.S. is apparently starting to have repercussions for the U.S. economy -- as the Associated Press reports, many farmers are likely to encounter shortages of migrant laborers when they start to harvest soon and faced with the prospect of hiring “less-motivated substitutes,” they are pressing Congress to ensure a decent pool of immigrant labor:

Randy Scarbor was counting on the 15 immigrant workers who lived on his farm to harvest his 60-acre sweet-potato crop last fall, but they vanished just as the work got under way. He was forced to bring in some less-motivated substitutes for the backbreaking job. “I wound up hiring some locals that weren’t worth hauling to the field. It was the worst harvest labor in my life” he said.

There is no obvious reason for the farm-labor shortages, but several theories are out there, including increased competition with higher-paying jobs in most cities and those tied to the cleanup and rebuilding of areas hit by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. However, some farm groups say they believe that increased enforcement along the Mexican border also may have curbed the number of illegal immigrants.

There are also indications that anti-immigrant civilian groups such as the Minutemen have discouraged farmworkers who could enter the country legally. . . . Farm organizations, such as the American Farm Bureau Federation, have appealed to Congress, to consider the needs of farmers for a workable temporary-worker program that would guarantee a stable supply of legal workers while also protecting the country from criminals and terrorists.

Opponents of illegal immigration will probably cheer this development and say that it shows that their vehement efforts to “tighten the borders” is working. That may or may not be the case, but as sociologists and economists have repeatedly pointed out, there are going to be repercussions throughout the economy.

Similar to the themes of the movie A Day Without a Mexican in which Californians struggle to meet their daily needs once all Mexicans disappear from the state, a similar situation is apparently taking shape when it comes to farmers all around the country who count on migrant laborers to help them make a living.

The bottom line is, if we as a society want to cut off illegal immigration, we need to be prepared to deal with the consequences in whatever form they come.