by Bob Ehalt

When Tom Metzen accepted the job as executive director of the Arizona chapter of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) in January 2007, he had no idea what awaited him.

“This turned out to be a lot bigger job than I imagined it would be,” Metzen said. “I guess that’s why no one else wanted it.”

It was not long before Metzen’s new position placed him at the epicenter of a politically and emotionally charged issue that has turned everyday life at Turf Paradise racetrack in Phoenix upside down. That issue is immigration, and Arizona—with its 400-mile-long border with Mexico—is the current hot spot.

But it is not just a track issue. Immigration affects just about every farm in America that is large enough to employ more than a few workers. For the Thoroughbred industry, which employs large numbers of ¬foreign-born workers on its farms and racetracks, a change in national policy on hiring immigrants—or any attempt to alter that policy—has broad ramifications and effects.

What is happening today in Arizona may well be repeated in a few months in Kentucky, Florida, New York, or California. No area is immune from the wide-ranging effects of immigration-enforcement policy—whether it is established on a national level or by state action. And the events in Arizona are being watched closely.

Arizona has been getting national attention because it has begun enforcing the Legal Arizona Workers Act, which took effect on January 1 and is widely known as the business death-penalty bill because of its draconian penalties for knowingly or intentionally employing undocumented workers. (See box on page 76 for an excerpt from the legislation.)

The law’s effect on the Thoroughbred industry was immediate. Turf Paradise, Arizona’s largest racetrack, normally would have about 250 backstretch employees. But about 40% of the workforce has either already left the United States or is facing the prospect of being forced to return to their home countries.

“It’s a national problem, but it is more of a hot-button issue in Arizona because of our proximity to Mexico,” Metzen said. “Over the years, we have had a substantial number of workers from Mexico, and many did not come back this year because they could not get a visa under the new laws.”

Arizona’s breeding farms also are feeling the sting of the new measures, especially those located in the vicinity of the Mexican border.

“It’s become quite a struggle for the farms in the border area,” said Yvonne Kunz, executive director of the Arizona Thoroughbred Breeders Association. “As much as some of the mom-and-pop operations in areas like Phoenix are not under a lot of scrutiny, there are problems in the southern part of the state. Many of the workers live in Mexico, cross the border to go to work, and then return home at night. From what I understand, the law now requires these people to stay here overnight, and they do not want to do that.”

Enforcement action

In addition to the turmoil caused by the Arizona legislation and the visa problems, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose jurisdiction encompasses Phoenix and Turf Paradise, continues an aggressive program of identifying illegal immigrants and turning them over to federal immigration officials for deportation.

Immigration issues have not yet affected Turf Paradise’s ability to conduct racing. Field sizes are fairly consistent with last year, but caring for the horses has become more difficult for many of the track’s trainers.

Linda Osborne, who has been training since 1988 and has a string of nine horses, usually relied on two grooms to help her run her stable. This year, she’s all alone.

“The situation in the backstretch here is as bad as I’ve ever seen it,” Osborne said. “I had two grooms for the last ten years that I could count on. Now both of them are in Mexico. Right now, I have to do it myself. A lot of trainers here are short-handed. Some have enough help, but others don’t. I can’t speak for everyone, but I know some trainers who have cut back on the number of horses they have because of the situation.”

For Bobbie Grissom, a trainer for 30 years with 15 horses under her care, handling her stable is an equally frustrating task. Grissom lost two longtime grooms, and while she has found replacements, the new workers cannot carry the same workload as the former ones.

“Now I have to gallop horses myself,” Grissom said. “I’m nearly 50 years old, and that’s something I don’t need to do.”

While Metzen contends that something needs to be done, a quick solution seems a longshot.

Roughly 110 backstretch workers at Turf Paradise were left without visas under the new law, though some received state licenses under the mistaken assumption that they would receive a visa.

As word spread about the problems with visas, approximately 35 workers abruptly left Turf Paradise. “There’s no way of telling where they went,” Metzen said.

Legal process

Metzen said the remaining 75 continued working at the track, awaiting a March 4 hearing on their ability to remain at Turf Paradise. After listening to the grooms’ legal representatives, an administrative judge will then have up to 20 days to pass his opinion along to Geoffrey Gonsher, director of the Arizona Department of Racing. Gonsher can then decide to revoke the grooms’ licenses.

Metzen, for one, is doubtful the grooms will receive good news from the hearing. “The law is pretty clear,” Metzen said. “If you have a visa, you can stay and work. If you don’t have a visa, you have to leave.”

The hearing and possibly a follow-up appeal to the Arizona Racing Commission might buy Turf Paradise’s grooms and trainers some time and protection from legal sanctions until the meet closes on May 4. “People have a constitutional right to appeal, and they should use it,” Metzen said. Eugene Joyce, general manager at Turf Paradise, declined comment because of the pending hearing.

The end of the meet, however, will not resolve a complex and volatile issue that does not seem destined to disappear overnight. Metzen said the problem began last year when Congress changed the method for awarding H-2B visas to foreign workers. In the past, 66,000 H-2B visas were awarded annually, but workers who had visas in the previous year were automatically given renewals and were not included among the 66,000 new visas. But now the national limit of 66,000 per year includes no exceptions for current holders of visas. Once the cap of 66,000 is reached, no one else can obtain an H-2B visa.

“Our problem stems from the fact that Congress did not do what it had done for the last 15 years. Many of our workers were given visas as returning workers in the past, but they were not included in the 66,000. We had no reason to believe Congress would change the laws, so we were unable to process everything in time,” Metzen said.

Business license at risk

While the reduced number of H-2B visas has ramifications on a national level, Arizona’s new state law has put more of a spotlight on immigration by forcing employers to check for undocumented workers under the threat of a suspended business license for one violation and the possible loss of a business license for a second offense.

In signing the law, which was not enforced until March 1, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano called the measure “the most aggressive action in the country against employers who knowingly or intentionally hire undocumented workers.

“Because of Congress’s failure to act [on a revision of national immigration policy earlier in 2007], states like Arizona have no choice but to take strong action to discourage the flow of illegal immigrants through our borders.”

To Grissom, though, the laws are hurting workers who have helped Arizona’s economy for decades.

“It’s a terrible situation. We have some people here at Turf Paradise who have worked for us for 15 or 20 years, and now they have to go back to Mexico. It’s not right,” Grissom said. “It’s hard to believe you can give someone the right to work here for 20 years and then one day you just take it away.”

One purpose of the legislation is to prevent illegal immigrants from taking work away from citizens. At Turf Paradise, the consensus is that most American citizens have no interest in toiling for long hours as a groom, in some cases earning less each week than an unemployment check would bring. “You can’t get Americans to do this job, period,” Metzen said.

To prove his point, Metzen told the story of a man in his mid-20s who came into his office eager to embark on a career in the horse racing industry.

“This fellow pulled up in a $40,000 truck looking for a job. I sent him to see a trainer and in five minutes he had a job,” Metzen said. “After a few days of working all day and mucking stalls, he asked the trainer who would do his job on Saturday and Sunday when he was off. The trainer told him that he would. Horses have to be cared for seven days a week, so he had to work seven days a week. The guy left that day and never came back.

“Americans want to work five days a week, not seven. We’ve advertised all over to find backstretch workers, and we’re lucky if we get one or two. Congress seems to believe we can find Americans to do this work. Well, if they can find them, then please send them to us.”

Shortage of visas

Metzen also found fault in limiting the number of visas to 66,000 per year nationwide. “It’s mind-¬boggling to think that Congress believes we only need 66,000 guest workers,” he said. “Remember that number does not include only racetracks. Hotels and every other business you can think of are included. I’m sure if you check all the Sheraton and Hilton hotels in the country, you’d find enough people to fill 66,000 visas. We need to go back to the old system.”

Because 2008 is a presidential election year, horsemen at Turf Paradise believe it is highly unlikely that any changes will be made in the regulations. “I thought the cap would be lifted once they realized the problems it would cause, but it has become too political,” Osborne said. “Trying to get change at a federal level is going to be very difficult, especially in an election year. If we would just let returning workers who had visas before come back, 85% of the problem would be solved.”

Until either a solution or adjustment in hiring practices is made, a cloud will continue to hover over trainers like Grissom and Osborne. As difficult as the situation may be now, it may get more perplexing in the coming months when Osborne ships to Washington and Grissom journeys to Minnesota to race during the summer.

In the past, both trainers would move their stable of horses, taking along their experienced and trusted grooms. But now, under the fear of having their licenses permanently revoked if they are caught without visas, many Turf Paradise workers are fearful of leaving the track for food and supplies, much less to travel to a different part of the country.

“I might be able to find some replacements to come with me, but I will not be able to find people who can give me the same quality of work as my old grooms,” Grissom said. “I don’t know how I’ll handle everything this summer.”

In the meantime, Metzen will continue to work from dawn to dusk at a job that in some ways now mirrors a groom’s: Not many people want it right now.

“People keep asking me why I keep doing this job, and I tell them that I couldn’t leave now,” Metzen said. “There’s too much at stake. I’m here for the duration.”

Bob Ehalt is a Connecticut-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent