Farmworker Immigration Reform Update 8/2/13

-Farmworker Leaders Arrested in Civil Disobedience Action for Immigration Reform

Ramón Ramírez, President of Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN) and Chair of Farmworker Justice’s Board of Directors, and Giev Kashkooli, Vice President of the UFW, were arrested yesterday on Capitol Hill along with 39 other immigrants’ rights, labor and faith leaders. The protest was against the House’s inability to pass a bill that contains a pathway to citizenship and keeps families together. Advocates marched past the Capitol building and blocked traffic between the Capitol and the House office buildings. The civil disobedience served to kick off a series of events planned for the August recess to urge the House to take up comprehensive immigration reform with a roadmap to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants. See photos of the event on our Facebook.

Earlier in the day, the UFW joined United We Dream and America’s Voice to help deliver 224 American-grown cantaloupes to Members of the House of Representatives. The cantaloupes were given to Members who voted in favor of Rep. Steve King’s proposal to end the Deferred Action program for DREAMers and other uses of prosecutorial discretion in deportation cases. The cantaloupes were affixed with the message: “This cantaloupe was picked by immigrants in California” and “You gave Steve King a vote. Give us a vote for citizenship.” The cantaloupes served as a reminder of Rep. King’s recent comments that most DREAMers were not college graduates but were instead drug smugglers with “calves the size of cantaloupes.”

-The Battle Over Citizenship in the House

While many immigration reform advocates had hoped for movement on immigration reform before the August recess, the House will begin its August recess next week without taking any action to move forward with immigration reform.

While getting a comprehensive immigration reform signed into law before the end of the year will be challenging, it is far from impossible. At this point, no one knows what will happen in the House on immigration, though there are several possible paths forward. Many House members have long held anti-amnesty stances. However, many of them have been expressing more interest in working on immigration reform, recognizing the potential political impact the issue could have on their party.

One clear message from House leadership has been that they do not want to vote on the Senate immigration bill. The House has its own bipartisan “Gang” that has been working on a comprehensive immigration reform bill, which has yet to be filed. The bill could also be broken down into smaller pieces, as many Members of the House have indicated a preference to pass “piecemeal” bills that address just one issue at a time, rather than one larger bill that comprehensively addresses immigration reform.

Another possibility for movement forward in the House would be for the House to pass a few piecemeal bills that only address pieces of immigration reform. Five piecemeal immigration bills have been passed out of their respective committees. One of them is Rep. Goodlatte’s Agricultural Guestworker Act, HR 1773, an unworkably harsh temporary worker program that strips away almost all worker protections and offers no path to citizenship for the current hard-working farmworkers. Goodlatte’s Bracero-redux program stands in sharp contrast to the positive agricultural stakeholder agreement that includes both an earned legalization program for the current workforce and a carefully negotiated agricultural guestworker program. Talking points on these proposals are available here.

None of the existing immigration reform bills contain a path to citizenship. House Republicans are also rumored to be working on several other pieces of immigration legislation, including a new guestworker program for lesser-skilled non-agricultural workers and the KIDS Act, a bill regarding undocumented youth who were brought to the U.S. as children, and possibly a bill to provide some kind of legal status to the undocumented. Votes on any one of these or any combination of these bills are a possibility in the fall. Any legislation passed in the House will likely need support from both parties since the anti-immigrant hardliners are likely to oppose any immigration bill that could bring the House to conference with the Senate.

If the House passes anything, it is likely to be a different bill than the Senate immigration reform bill, S. 744. Thus, the next step for the bills would be a conference committee that includes both Members of the House and Senate. Once there is an agreement on a final bill in the conference committee, both houses of Congress would have to approve the final bill before it is sent to the President for his signature.

Next week, Congress begins its August recess and Representatives return to their home districts for five weeks. While anti-immigration individuals represent a minority of Americans, they have been very loud in previous immigration reform efforts. Pro-reform groups are looking forward to the August recess as an opportunity to show the broad support for humane and sensible immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship by meeting with Members, and attending rallies and town hall meetings. This will be a time for many Members of Congress to decide where they stand on immigration reform.

We urge you to participate in local events and to weigh in with your Members of Congress to let them know that you support fair and rational immigration reform that includes a broad, inclusive and achievable path to citizenship for the 11 million, including farmworkers and their families. Please also share with them your support for the positive agricultural stakeholder agreement reached between agricultural employers and the UFW and express your opposition to Rep. Goodlatte’s harsh and unworkable Agricultural Guestworker Act, HR 1773.
 

Farmworker Leaders Arrested in Civil Disobedience Action for Immigration Reform

Ramón Ramírez, President of Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN) and Chair of Farmworker Justice’s Board of Directors, and Giev Kashkooli, Vice President of the UFW, were arrested yesterday on Capitol Hill along with 39 other immigrants’ rights, labor and faith leaders. The protest was against the House’s inability to pass a bill that contains a pathway to citizenship and keeps families together. Advocates marched past the Capitol building and blocked traffic between the Capitol and the House office buildings. The civil disobedience served to kick off a series of events planned for the August recess to urge the House to take up comprehensive immigration reform with a roadmap to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants. See photos of the event on our Facebook.

Earlier in the day, the UFW joined United We Dream and America’s Voice to help deliver 224 American-grown cantaloupes to Members of the House of Representatives. The cantaloupes were given to Members who voted in favor of Rep. Steve King’s proposal to end the Deferred Action program for DREAMers and other uses of prosecutorial discretion in deportation cases. The cantaloupes were affixed with the message: “This cantaloupe was picked by immigrants in California” and “You gave Steve King a vote. Give us a vote for citizenship.” The cantaloupes served as a reminder of Rep. King’s recent comments that most DREAMers were not college graduates but were instead drug smugglers with “calves the size of cantaloupes.”

The Battle Over Citizenship in the House

While many immigration reform advocates had hoped for movement on immigration reform before the August recess, the House will begin its August recess next week without taking any action to move forward with immigration reform.

While getting a comprehensive immigration reform signed into law before the end of the year will be challenging, it is far from impossible. At this point, no one knows what will happen in the House on immigration, though there are several possible paths forward. Many House members have long held anti-amnesty stances. However, many of them have been expressing more interest in working on immigration reform, recognizing the potential political impact the issue could have on their party.

One clear message from House leadership has been that they do not want to vote on the Senate immigration bill. The House has its own bipartisan “Gang” that has been working on a comprehensive immigration reform bill, which has yet to be filed. The bill could also be broken down into smaller pieces, as many Members of the House have indicated a preference to pass “piecemeal” bills that address just one issue at a time, rather than one larger bill that comprehensively addresses immigration reform.

Another possibility for movement forward in the House would be for the House to pass a few piecemeal bills that only address pieces of immigration reform. Five piecemeal immigration bills have been passed out of their respective committees. One of them is Rep. Goodlatte’s Agricultural Guestworker Act, HR 1773, an unworkably harsh temporary worker program that strips away almost all worker protections and offers no path to citizenship for the current hard-working farmworkers. Goodlatte’s Bracero-redux program stands in sharp contrast to the positive agricultural stakeholder agreement that includes both an earned legalization program for the current workforce and a carefully negotiated agricultural guestworker program. Talking points on these proposals are available here.

None of the existing immigration reform bills contain a path to citizenship. House Republicans are also rumored to be working on several other pieces of immigration legislation, including a new guestworker program for lesser-skilled non-agricultural workers and the KIDS Act, a bill regarding undocumented youth who were brought to the U.S. as children, and possibly a bill to provide some kind of legal status to the undocumented. Votes on any one of these or any combination of these bills are a possibility in the fall. Any legislation passed in the House will likely need support from both parties since the anti-immigrant hardliners are likely to oppose any immigration bill that could bring the House to conference with the Senate.

If the House passes anything, it is likely to be a different bill than the Senate immigration reform bill, S. 744. Thus, the next step for the bills would be a conference committee that includes both Members of the House and Senate. Once there is an agreement on a final bill in the conference committee, both houses of Congress would have to approve the final bill before it is sent to the President for his signature.

Next week, Congress begins its August recess and Representatives return to their home districts for five weeks. While anti-immigration individuals represent a minority of Americans, they have been very loud in previous immigration reform efforts. Pro-reform groups are looking forward to the August recess as an opportunity to show the broad support for humane and sensible immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship by meeting with Members, and attending rallies and town hall meetings. This will be a time for many Members of Congress to decide where they stand on immigration reform.

We urge you to participate in local events and to weigh in with your Members of Congress to let them know that you support fair and rational immigration reform that includes a broad, inclusive and achievable path to citizenship for the 11 million, including farmworkers and their families. Please also share with them your support for the positive agricultural stakeholder agreement reached between agricultural employers and the UFW and express your opposition to Rep. Goodlatte’s harsh and unworkable Agricultural Guestworker Act, HR 1773.