Chile growers in New Mexico say they need a guest worker program to survive and reverse the decline of the famed crop.
New Mexico Chile Commission chairman Rick Ledbetter says growers want new temporary immigrant labor because U.S.-born workers are opting not to work in the fields. That's creating a shortage of green chile pickers
Ed Ogaz, owner of the Anthony, New Mexico-based chile wholesaler Seco Spice Co., says the shortage also is preventing farmers from using all available land to grow the spice stable.
But Jon Hendry, president of the New Mexico Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, says a guest worker program without federal comprehensive immigration reform is unacceptable.
In 2014, New Mexico saw a 10 percent decline in acres of chiles harvested. Farmers blame drought and labor shortages.
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