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First Wave of Harmful Changes Implemented in November 2007 DOL Memo

Wednesday, 11 July 2007 13:55

Immigration Labor - H-2A Changes

Bush Administration Makes One-Sided Changes to the H-2A Agricultural Guestworker Program In November 2007 Memo

Context:

On August 10, President Bush announced that the Administration would consider changes to the H-2A agricultural guest worker program to streamline the program while retaining labor protections.  

In early October 2007, the Los Angeles Times reported on letters sent by the National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) to the Bush Administration demanding extensive changes to the H-2A program.  On October 14th, the New York Times published an editorial criticizing the Bush Administration’s plan to make one-sided changes to the H-2A program and urging passage of AgJOBS.

On November 6, 2007, the Department of Labor issued a memo that drastically limited H-2A employer obligations to recruit US workers for the agricultural employment.  The memo also imposes the obligation on state workforce agencies to verify employment eligibility of any US workers referred to employers in response to an H-2A job order with a “strong recommendation” to use the highly flawed E-Verify program. Farmworker Justice and the UFW alerted Congress and issued press statements condemning the DOL’s actions against farmworkers (click here to see FJ’s press statement  and here to see UFW’s press statement). On November 14, 2007, the DOL rescinded the Nov. 6 memo but issued an equally illegal replacement.  Please see our bulletin for more information. Through these illegal policies, the Bush administration is enabling agricultural employers to hire cheap foreign labor and helping to lower the wages for all U.S. workers.

The Administration’s resources would be better spent cooperating on the passage of AgJOBS and on enforcing the labor protection in the H-2A program.  These changes to the H-2A program would not address the reality that the majority of farmworkers already in the United States are undocumented.  The bipartisan AgJOBS legislation offers a balanced approach that both employers and farmworkers can live with and that will serve America well.

DOL announces sweeping changes to H-2A Program< Prev