Sued by Farm Workers, Should J.D. Alexander Avoid Future Immigration Bills?

An E-Verify supporter who calls state Sen. J.D. Alexander "probably the largest employer of illegal aliens in Florida" is not surprised that the Lake Wales Republican is being sued over his hiring practices.

A company controlled by Alexander -- Blue Head Farms LLC -- has been sued by two farmworkers who allege he violated federal law by replacing U.S. citizens and green card holders with guest workers.

Jose Luis Castro-Mata, a green card holder who picked strawberries on Alexanders Blue Head Farms in the 2009-10 season, was fired after Alexander discovered he was not a guest worker, Gregory Schell, of the Migrant Farmworker Justice Project, told the Times-Herald.

Alexander was instrumental in killing the Senate's E-Verify bill last session, and immigration-control activist George Fuller told Sunshine State News the powerful Senate Budget Committee chairman has a clear conflict of interest.

"The member of the Senate who had the most to lose if a mandatory E-Verify bill passed was J.D. Alexander, and he made sure it didn't happen," Fuller said.

Fuller notes that Alexander has a financial interest in related agricultural concerns, Blue Head Ranch, Blue Head Cattle and Atlantic Blue Development.Atlantic Blue, Fuller said, has a majority controlling interest in Alico Inc.

Though acknowledging that Alexander is "innocent until proven guilty," Fuller said Alexander's business association with Alico raises red flags because of its past hiring of illegal aliens.

"Alexander is probably one of the largest employers of illegal aliens in the state, if not the largest," Fuller charged.

On a more sarcastic note, Fuller suggested that Senate President Mike Haridopolos install Alexander as chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee.

Alexander, who is term-limited in 2012, did not return messages left at his Tallahassee and Winter Haven offices.