Farmworker Justice Immigration Policy Update Nov. 19, 2014

President Obama to Announce Executive Action on Immigration Tomorrow Evening

The White House announced today via a statement and video that President Obama will announce his plans for executive action on immigration in a speech at 8:00pm ET Thursday evening. You can watch the President’s speech tomorrow at WhiteHouse.gov/Live. On Friday, President Obama will give a more in-depth speech at Del Sol High School in Las Vegas, Nevada explaining his executive action.

Farmworker Justice is pleased that the President is moving ahead with executive action to address our broken immigration system. We urge the President to provide broad, bold administrative relief that includes farmworkers and their family members.

There are an estimated 2.5 million farmworkers laboring on our farms and ranches to bring food to our tables. At least half of farmworkers – roughly 1.25 million – are undocumented immigrants. The presence of so many undocumented farmworkers in the labor force makes them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, depressing the wages and working conditions for all farmworkers. Farmworkers make important contributions to our communities and our economies and should be protected from deportation and provided with work authorization.
The United Farm Workers (UFW), the UFW Foundation and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) held a symbolic Thanksgiving meal in front of the White House today with workers who harvest and produce food commonly eaten at Thanksgiving. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL); Arturo Rodriguez, President, UFW; Esther Lopez, International Vice President and Director of Civil Rights and Community Action Department, UFCW; and several farmworkers and food processing workers spoke about the importance of executive action for farmworkers and food processing workers. They called on President Obama to deliver the most inclusive changes to immigration policy possible through executive action. 

Meanwhile, according to a Wall Street Journal article, some growers are expressing concern that “giving farm workers the ability to work legally will prompt many to seek other jobs… ‘Unless it includes incentives for people to continue to work in the ag force, it could hasten attrition,’ said Craig Regelbrugge, national co-chairman of the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform.” Farmworker Justice believes that agricultural employers should be required to compete for labor and attract job applicants by improving wages and working conditions. As explained in a report by knowledgeable researchers, the majority of farmworkers legalized under the 1986 immigration reform law continued to work for years in agriculture and the same would likely occur for farmworkers granted status today.

We do not yet have details about the President’s executive action plans and rumors are flying. Some media reports suggest the President’s action may provide protection from deportation and work authorization to undocumented immigrants with U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (LPR) children who have been in the U.S. for a significant period of time – possibly 5 to 10 years. There may also be an expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Many hard-working undocumented immigrants in agriculture and elsewhere could benefit from such criteria, but many would be left out. The majority of undocumented farmworkers have strong ties to the United States, and have lived and worked here for at least five years, and for many, at least ten years. However, others have entered the United States more recently or do not have citizen or LPR children. We will be analyzing the President’s announcement to share with you how the executive action will impact farmworkers.

Some opponents of legalizing undocumented individuals claim that the President doesn’t have the legal authority to enact such administrative relief. This is false. President Obama has clear legal authority to defer the deportations of millions of undocumented immigrants with strong ties to our communities and to provide them with work authorization. As part of the President’s existing authority to enforce the law, he can and must set priorities, target resources, and shape how laws are to be implemented. Since the 1950’s, every President, including both Republican and Democratic Presidents, has used his authority to defer the deportations of millions of people in the country without status. Nonetheless, some Members of Congress have promised to introduce legislation to stop the President from exercising his legal authority under immigration law; Farmworker Justice will join with others to oppose such efforts.

Administrative relief is vitally important, but the struggle does not end there. Only Congress can create an opportunity for undocumented farmworkers and their family members and the rest of the 11 million to obtain permanent immigration status and an opportunity for citizenship. Farmworker Justice will continue to fight for a permanent solution that offers the 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country a path to citizenship.

We will also continue to fight against harsh one-sided guestworker programs because they are inhumane and not an appropriate solution to securing a productive agricultural sector in which farmworkers are treated fairly. The H-2A agricultural guestworker program serves employers’ needs but subjects many farmworkers to abuses. Yet some House members are planning to push for a new agricultural guest worker program. The people who come to this country to produce our food should be treated as immigrants who can raise their families and earn an opportunity for U.S. citizenship.

Stay tuned for more information about the President’s executive action and what you can do to help farmworkers in your communities obtain relief from deportation fears.

President Obama to Announce Executive Action on Immigration Tomorrow Evening

The White House announced today via a statement and video that President Obama will announce his plans for executive action on immigration in a speech at 8:00pm ET Thursday evening. You can watch the President’s speech tomorrow at WhiteHouse.gov/Live. On Friday, President Obama will give a more in-depth speech at Del Sol High School in Las Vegas, Nevada explaining his executive action.

Farmworker Justice is pleased that the President is moving ahead with executive action to address our broken immigration system. We urge the President to provide broad, bold administrative relief that includes farmworkers and their family members.

There are an estimated 2.5 million farmworkers laboring on our farms and ranches to bring food to our tables. At least half of farmworkers – roughly 1.25 million – are undocumented immigrants. The presence of so many undocumented farmworkers in the labor force makes them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, depressing the wages and working conditions for all farmworkers. Farmworkers make important contributions to our communities and our economies and should be protected from deportation and provided with work authorization.
The United Farm Workers (UFW), the UFW Foundation and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) held a symbolic Thanksgiving meal in front of the White House today with workers who harvest and produce food commonly eaten at Thanksgiving. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL); Arturo Rodriguez, President, UFW; Esther Lopez, International Vice President and Director of Civil Rights and Community Action Department, UFCW; and several farmworkers and food processing workers spoke about the importance of executive action for farmworkers and food processing workers. They called on President Obama to deliver the most inclusive changes to immigration policy possible through executive action. 

Meanwhile, according to a Wall Street Journal article, some growers are expressing concern that “giving farm workers the ability to work legally will prompt many to seek other jobs… ‘Unless it includes incentives for people to continue to work in the ag force, it could hasten attrition,’ said Craig Regelbrugge, national co-chairman of the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform.” Farmworker Justice believes that agricultural employers should be required to compete for labor and attract job applicants by improving wages and working conditions. As explained in a report by knowledgeable researchers, the majority of farmworkers legalized under the 1986 immigration reform law continued to work for years in agriculture and the same would likely occur for farmworkers granted status today.

We do not yet have details about the President’s executive action plans and rumors are flying. Some media reports suggest the President’s action may provide protection from deportation and work authorization to undocumented immigrants with U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (LPR) children who have been in the U.S. for a significant period of time – possibly 5 to 10 years. There may also be an expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Many hard-working undocumented immigrants in agriculture and elsewhere could benefit from such criteria, but many would be left out. The majority of undocumented farmworkers have strong ties to the United States, and have lived and worked here for at least five years, and for many, at least ten years. However, others have entered the United States more recently or do not have citizen or LPR children. We will be analyzing the President’s announcement to share with you how the executive action will impact farmworkers.

Some opponents of legalizing undocumented individuals claim that the President doesn’t have the legal authority to enact such administrative relief. This is false. President Obama has clear legal authority to defer the deportations of millions of undocumented immigrants with strong ties to our communities and to provide them with work authorization. As part of the President’s existing authority to enforce the law, he can and must set priorities, target resources, and shape how laws are to be implemented. Since the 1950’s, every President, including both Republican and Democratic Presidents, has used his authority to defer the deportations of millions of people in the country without status. Nonetheless, some Members of Congress have promised to introduce legislation to stop the President from exercising his legal authority under immigration law; Farmworker Justice will join with others to oppose such efforts.

Administrative relief is vitally important, but the struggle does not end there. Only Congress can create an opportunity for undocumented farmworkers and their family members and the rest of the 11 million to obtain permanent immigration status and an opportunity for citizenship. Farmworker Justice will continue to fight for a permanent solution that offers the 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country a path to citizenship.

We will also continue to fight against harsh one-sided guestworker programs because they are inhumane and not an appropriate solution to securing a productive agricultural sector in which farmworkers are treated fairly. The H-2A agricultural guestworker program serves employers’ needs but subjects many farmworkers to abuses. Yet some House members are planning to push for a new agricultural guest worker program. The people who come to this country to produce our food should be treated as immigrants who can raise their families and earn an opportunity for U.S. citizenship.

Stay tuned for more information about the President’s executive action and what you can do to help farmworkers in your communities obtain relief from deportation fears.