Carlos Cordona fled violence and dwindling job opportunities in Guatemala more than a decade ago, seeking a better life in America.

Entering the country without documentation, Cordona found work in the dairy industry in upstate New York. For the past six years he's toiled on a farm 12 hours a day, six days a week.

Yet every day Cordona fears being arrested and separated from his wife, an undocumented Mexican immigrant, and 2-year-old daughter.

"Immigration follows us everywhere," Cordona said. "I worry constantly that something will happen to me and my family. I don't know what I would do."

Farmers rely on foreign workers, many of whom are undocumented, to keep their operations running. But as the Trump administration cracks down on illegal immigration and fewer Americans want to work in the fields, some fear they'll lack the workers to plant and harvest the crops that feed the nation.

"Americans can't do these kinds of jobs," Cordona said.

The loss of foreign workers could cut harvests and push supermarket prices higher.

Produce imports could increase even as fruits and vegetables rot in American fields. Farms could fail, costing jobs and damaging the economy.

"Migrant labor is very important to agriculture," said Steve Ammerman, a spokesman for the New York Farm Bureau, a non-governmental organization with more than 200,000 members. "The average consumer would feel (the loss of workers) in many ways."

New York ranks second among states for apple production and third in milk production, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The state also is among the top producers of cottage cheese, yogurt and sour cream.

Will Waldron

Because hours are long and the work is hard, finding local labor is difficult, farmers say. Most farmworkers are immigrants, half of whom are undocumented.

"We've had a failed national policy on immigration for 20-plus years," said New York Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball. "It's exacerbating the problem of finding skilled workers. (Reform is) needed now more than ever."

Farms that produce 79 percent of the nation's milk supply say immigrants make up more than half their labor, according to the National Milk Producers Federation. Losing those workers would cause retail milk prices to rise by nearly half and cost more than 100,000 jobs and $16.1 billion in economic output, the federation said.

Yogurt producers such as Chenango County-based Chobani depend on dairy farmers — nearly 900 in Chobani's case — for their raw materials.

Farmers are also "essential" to the rural tax base, Ammerman said.

Heightened activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement would be "devastating" for farms in New York, he added.

ICE arrested more than 41,000 undocumented immigrants nationwide in President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office, an increase of 37.6 percent over the same period in 2016.

The ICE office in Buffalo, which covers 48 upstate counties, including the Capital Region, deported 1,454 people last year. At least two ICE raids have occurred in Saratoga Springs since May 30, with 27 people arrested on suspicion of being in the U.S. illegally. Data provided by ICE did not list their occupations.

Farmers fearful of losing workers have several options. They could hire legally authorized workers through the federal H-2A program, which is expensive and time-consuming; stop growing labor-intensive crops; or produce less of certain crops, affecting the supply of local produce and leaving fields dormant.

More farmers have turned to the H-2A program, which allows foreign citizens to work on U.S. farms temporarily. More than 5,500 temporary workers came to New York farms last year, a 31 percent increase from 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There's no cap on the number of visas issued annually.

"We are tremendously reliant on our H-2A workers," said Laura Ten Eyck, who owns Indian Ladder Farms in Altamont. "We could not run our business without them."

Roughly 12 temporary workers come to Ten Eyck's farm annually to pick apples and pumpkins. But the program can be bureaucratic, she said.

Before they can apply for H-2A workers, farmers must advertise for local labor, which is difficult to find. In New York, H-2A laborers earn a legally mandated $12.38 an hour — $2.68 more than the $9.70 minimum wage upstate.

Farmers also must provide housing and other amenities for H-2A workers.

The program is also problematic for farmers growing crops year-round because H-2A laborers generally stay in the U.S. for 10 months or less.

"We have to have something that works year-round," said Maureen Torrey, a dairy and vegetable farmer in Genesee County who uses the program. "It's hampering productivity and efficiency."

In April, Torrey and 13 other farmers traveled to Washington, D.C., to discuss the program and the labor shortage with President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.

"We had a very good, frank discussion and (Trump) understands the program and how we need it," Torrey said. "He understands it's the future of agriculture."

North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik introduced legislation in January that would move oversight of the H-2A program from the Department of Labor to the Department of Agriculture to better address farmers' needs. It would also require farmers and businesses to report delays with the program to Congress and would remove the requirement that they advertise for local labor first. The bill was referred to a House subcommittee in May.

"When I travel the district speaking with our farmers, I often hear about how unnecessary delays in worker visas lead to difficulty meeting production goals," Stefanik said in January. "This common-sense legislation simply puts the H-2A agricultural visa program in the hands of those who best understand the specific needs of our farms."

"Very few" employers would knowingly hire an undocumented worker, said L.J. D'Arrigo, a lawyer with Albany-based firm Whiteman Osterman and Hanna.

Employees must complete Form I-9 and present certain documents in order to legally work in the United States. If a worker's documents meet the requirements, an employer cannot question the materials if they appear legitimate or they could be charged with discrimination, D'Arrigo said.

But ICE can visit a farm and examine the forms, which are sent to a forensic unit for review. There's been a recent uptick in I-9 raids, D'Arrigo said.

"I've heard from many farms recently where ICE has come on the farm under the pretense of investigating a specific worker, then taking others away that they come in contact with," he said. "It's only going to become more prevalent as ICE knows where they need to go."

Will Waldron

Undocumented farmworkers are "terrified," said Jennifer Ifft, a Cornell University professor who specializes in agricultural policy and farm management.

"If ICE decides to crack down on farms across the U.S., it's going to be bad for everyone," she said.

Eliminating undocumented workers would cost the U.S. $30 to $60 billion in agricultural output, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. An enforcement-only approach to immigration would cause food prices to rise by 5 to 6 percent and cause a 30 to 60 percent drop in fruit production.

Worried about ICE and the lack of local labor, some farmers have invested in machinery. Dan Wolf bought several milking machines for his dairy farm in Wayne County six years ago.

"It eliminates workers and the need for them," he said.

Others have stopped growing certain crops that require more manual labor, like cherries or cabbage. Torrey stopped growing spring-dug parsnips because it was too expensive.

"Eventually the only place you'll be able to find specialty vegetables and crops is in your home garden or at a farmers' market," she said.

Cordona, the Guatemalan immigrant, said on some days he's afraid to leave his house. He often greets store clerks while getting groceries or gas, but sometimes they stare silently and don't respond. After he leaves, he wonders whether they will call the authorities.

"I didn't come here to take money from the government," Cordona said. "I pay my bills, I provide for my family. Immigrants, we came here to work."

miszler@timesunion.com • 518-454-5018 • @madisoniszler