Twenty-seven illegal aliens working on the Vidalia onion harvest were arrested Wednesday by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. The INS said it planned to deport the illegals. According to an INS release, the aliens were all from Mexico and were found at three separate residences in squalid conditions. Onion growers have repeatedly complained that such arrests scare off the legal migrants that they rely on for harvesting. Many illegals use fake documents.
Growers claim they lack the resources to check the validity of the work papers.
There was no answer at the INS' Atlanta office late Wednesday. Onion grower Delbert Bland said he had been warned by the INS that the agency would be targeting the Vidalia area this spring.