The summer air in the Pacific Northwest turned decidedly frosty on June 4 with the news that Broetje Orchards LLC will pay a record $2.25 million civil penalty fine following a settlement agreement with U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement.

Representatives of the fresh produce industry took the time to speak with The Produce News to provide their reactions and comments.

“The Broetje family has done more for improving the lives of Latino families than anyone else in eastern Washington,” said West Mathison, president of Stemilt Growers LLC.Ralph Broetje, owner of Broetje Orchards, is seen against the backdrop of the company’s production acreage in Prescott, WA, in 2012. (Photo by Lance Johnson/Image West Photography) “They financially support childcare, English classes, primary education, safe housing and enrichment courses for their employees. They do this out of a love of all people, regardless of their legal status. They are a model of how American businesses should provide for their work force. The fines assessed against Broetje are a clear example of the atrocities that our government is committing by not addressing immigration reform. For those who know the Broetje family, we are saddened by the news and disappointed in our government.”

Tom Stenzel, president and chief executive officer of the United Fresh Produce Association, said the action does nothing to further much-needed immigration reform. “This situation is a frustrating and sad example of our broken immigration system,” he told The Produce News. “When a company and family with the integrity of the Broetjes is caught in the maze of bureaucracy and whiplash of U.S. labor policy, it’s tragic. Penalizing a grower like this does nothing to help U.S. workers nor the undocumented workers who only want to work in jobs that most Americans won’t take. The hypocrisy of U.S. immigration policy today is that, while we demonize these workers and the companies who inadvertently employ them, the rest of us rely upon their hard work to harvest crops, landscape lawns, serve our foods when we eat out, repair our roofs when they leak, and clean our homes and hotel rooms.”

Chris Schlect, president of the Northwest Horticultural Council, said the fine is likely one of the largest nationally. “The type of fine that was imposed on Broetje underscores the need for immigration reform,” he stated. “In general, the size of the fine and magnitude of people involved underscores the need for the country to come to grips with this issue.”

He went on to say employers should not be put in this kind of situation.

The settlement stems from an immigration audit of the company’s records by ICE, which said about 950 of the company’s workers were not eligible to work in the United States over the course of several years.

According to ICE, the terms of the settlement agreement specify that Broetje Orchards will pay the fine in a lump sum and be fully released from any additional civil or criminal liability.

Broetje Orchards, headquartered in Prescott, WA, is one of the Pacific Northwest’s premier tree fruit growers. The husband-and-wife team of Ralph and Cheryl Broetje initially began farming cherry trees in 1968, and subsequently acquired property in the Columbia Basin near the confluence of the Columbia and Snake rivers.

Broetje Orchards is the largest employer in Walla Walla County in Washington state. According to the company’s website, it has more than 6,000 acres of apple and cherry orchards. As one of the nation’s larger apple producers, Broetje Orchards packs more than 5 million boxes of apples each year.

The company established the Vista Hermosa Community in 1990 to provide safe, affordable housing and services to its employees.

The Tierra Vida Community offers affordable, quality homes in Pasco, WA. Daycare services are also available to families.

A scholarship program established by Broetje Orchards offers financial support and encouragement to low-income and first-generation college students who might otherwise not be able to continue their education and pursue their dreams for the future.

According to ICE, the fine is the largest imposed in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska.

“Broetje Orchards has reached an agreement to conclude an immigration audit with United States Immigration & Customs Enforcement,” the company said in a prepared statement. “The audit involved the records of people working at the company over a period of several years.

“The settlement calls for Broetje Orchards to pay an agreed civil penalty of $2.25 million. There was no admission of wrongdoing and no allegations or findings of criminal conduct.

“We are pleased to put this process behind us and to get back to the business of growing fruit,” the Broetje Orchards management team continued. “This case nevertheless highlights what is clearly a dysfunctional and broken immigration system. We urge our industry and our state’s congressional delegation to take the lead to support and pass immigration reform legislation. The agricultural labor shortage needs to be fixed, and now.”