A mini round-up of labor crises throughout the country stemming from President Bush’s “immigration crackdown” appears on a blog dedicated to (what else?) race and politics. Our favorite bummer is this tasty bit it highlighted from the Chicago Tribune:

Other industries are feeling the squeeze. There aren’t enough crab pickers in Maryland or horse walkers in Saratoga. Tourism bureaus all over the country are fretting about understaffing. Fewer immigrants will mean fewer landscapers, construction workers, dishwashers and pizza delivery drivers. Americans who want to hire a housekeeper or nanny might have to search harder, and pay more.

Egad, man! Who’s gonna instill identity crises in pampered WASPy kids, now that their caretakers won’t be three shades darker than them? (The loss of delivery guys as ethnic extras on film shoots would be tremendous, too.) Convicts will fill the void, if a trend in Colorado grape-gathering catches on among working moms:

…many farmers are finding creative solutions to their manpower problems. They have employed a prison labor force to make sure that they can gather all the grapes, and many farmers there hope the prison labor program will be expanded.

At least it’d create some parity in produce-picking stereotypes. We get sooo tired of using the Mexican one.

Migrant Workers Uprooted, Farmers Turn to Prisons [RaceWire via Vivir Latino]
Image [Joyce Dopkeen / NY Times]