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Farmworker Justice Immigration Reform Update 10/25/13

President Obama Calls for Immigration Reform

Yesterday, President Obama spoke at the White House, calling on the House to pass comprehensive immigration reform by the end of the year. President Obama stated “[e]verybody knows that our current immigration system is broken. Across the political spectrum, people understand that. . . . It doesn’t make sense to have 11 million people who are in this country illegally without any incentive or any way for them to come out of the shadows, get right with the law, meet their responsibilities and permit their families then to move ahead. It’s not smart. It’s not fair. . . . Securing our borders; modernizing our legal immigration system; providing a pathway to earned, legalized citizenship; growing our economy; strengthening our middle class; reducing our deficits — that’s what common-sense immigration reform will do.” The President concluded by thanking immigration reform supporters for “your passion and your heart when it comes to this issue” and by calling on advocates to “keep it up. Keep putting the pressure on all of us to get this done.” The UFW has posted an action update on immigration reform that is available here.

Immigration Developments in the House of Representatives

Following the resolution of the budget debacle, immigration reform has dominated the headlines. Recent media stories reflect that it is not yet clear whether the House will move forward to pass immigration reform this year, despite the urgent need and the strong push from a broad array of organizations and individuals throughout the country.

Some newspapers are jumping to write an obituary on this year’s chances of immigration reform (although leaving themselves room for error) while others are noting the opportunities arising from unusual coalitions agreeing on the need for immigration reform. President Obama warned advocates about the media’s influence in his address, “[T]here are always moments like this in big efforts at reform — where you meet resistance, and the press will declare something dead, it’s not going to happen, but that can be overcome.” Despite the political challenges emphasized by media, there is widespread recognition of the importance of addressing immigration reform. When Speaker Boehner was recently asked whether he plans on bringing immigration reform legislation to the floor this year, he replied, "I still think that immigration reform is an important subject that needs to be addressed and I am hopeful."

There are new developments that may indicate some momentum for action. According to the Wall Street Journal, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla), a member of the House’s defunct bipartisan “Gang of 8” that was drafting a comprehensive reform bill, is now working with several other Congressional members on a bill that will feature tough border security measures and something to address the 11 million undocumented immigrants. According to Rep. Diaz-Balart, the proposal “… will offer illegal immigrants a way to ‘get right with the law’ while addressing the problematic legal status of the 11 million” in a way that ensures “they cannot have more or additional rights than folks who have been doing everything patiently and legally.” Until we see the bill’s language, it is not yet clear what this proposal might encompass.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is also reported to be working on an immigration bill that he plans to introduce next week. According to Politico, his proposal would allow undocumented immigrants to get a legal status for 6 years. Issa said “[i]f somebody has a nexus that would reasonably allow them to become permanent residents and American citizens, we should allow them to do that. … Our view is that long before six years, people would be in those categories heading toward some other pathway, in a guest worker program, or of course, have left the country.” Obviously this description raises more questions than it answers. Farmworker Justice will analyze the proposal when language is available. Also, as we reported last week, House Majority Leader Cantor (R.-Va.) is reportedly working on a bill for Dreamers referred to as the KIDS Act. 

Next week a coalition of conservative organizations and Republican activists will press Congress for immigration legislation. Stay tuned for more immigration reform updates.

Growers Seek Special Streamlined Process in H-2A Program Due to Government Shutdown

Last week, a group of over 20 House Representatives sent a letter to the Departments of Labor, State, and Homeland Security and to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services requesting that the processing of H-2A temporary agricultural guestworker visas be expedited due to a backlog caused by the government shutdown. Yet, the government shut-down also affected many other aspects of the Department of Labor’s duties, including its responsibilities to enforce occupational safety, wage and hour, and other important labor protections in the fields and in other workplaces.

The growers’ concern about access to their workforce points to the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants and the agricultural stakeholder agreement. While there is no shortage of farmworkers in the United States, there are many immigrant farmworkers who lack work authorization. Further, it is important to remember that there are 500,000 – 700,000 U.S. farmworkers and there is widespread discrimination against US workers in the H-2A program. Rep. Goodlatte’s Agricultural Guestworker Act, fails to provide even minimal worker protections in its massive new guestworker program, which would exacerbate this discrimination and drive down wages; ultimately, displacing many current farmworkers.

The House should support the bipartisan agricultural stakeholder agreement that is a product of compromise among the UFW, the Agricultural Workforce Coalition, and a bipartisan group of legislators. The stakeholder agreement, which is included in a proposal for comprehensive reform, HR 15 (now at 184 cosponsors), would stabilize the farm labor force, address the needs of both agricultural employers and farmworkers, and serve the national interest in a safe, secure food supply.

www.farmworkerjustice.org
www.facebook.com/farmworkerjustice.org
www.twitter.com/farmwrkrjustice
 

President Obama Calls for Immigration Reform

Yesterday, President Obama spoke at the White House, calling on the House to pass comprehensive immigration reform by the end of the year. President Obama stated “[e]verybody knows that our current immigration system is broken. Across the political spectrum, people understand that. . . . It doesn’t make sense to have 11 million people who are in this country illegally without any incentive or any way for them to come out of the shadows, get right with the law, meet their responsibilities and permit their families then to move ahead. It’s not smart. It’s not fair. . . . Securing our borders; modernizing our legal immigration system; providing a pathway to earned, legalized citizenship; growing our economy; strengthening our middle class; reducing our deficits — that’s what common-sense immigration reform will do.” The President concluded by thanking immigration reform supporters for “your passion and your heart when it comes to this issue” and by calling on advocates to “keep it up. Keep putting the pressure on all of us to get this done.” The UFW has posted an action update on immigration reform that is available here.

Immigration Developments in the House of Representatives

Following the resolution of the budget debacle, immigration reform has dominated the headlines. Recent media stories reflect that it is not yet clear whether the House will move forward to pass immigration reform this year, despite the urgent need and the strong push from a broad array of organizations and individuals throughout the country.

Some newspapers are jumping to write an obituary on this year’s chances of immigration reform (although leaving themselves room for error) while others are noting the opportunities arising from unusual coalitions agreeing on the need for immigration reform. President Obama warned advocates about the media’s influence in his address, “[T]here are always moments like this in big efforts at reform — where you meet resistance, and the press will declare something dead, it’s not going to happen, but that can be overcome.” Despite the political challenges emphasized by media, there is widespread recognition of the importance of addressing immigration reform. When Speaker Boehner was recently asked whether he plans on bringing immigration reform legislation to the floor this year, he replied, "I still think that immigration reform is an important subject that needs to be addressed and I am hopeful."

There are new developments that may indicate some momentum for action. According to the Wall Street Journal, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla), a member of the House’s defunct bipartisan “Gang of 8” that was drafting a comprehensive reform bill, is now working with several other Congressional members on a bill that will feature tough border security measures and something to address the 11 million undocumented immigrants. According to Rep. Diaz-Balart, the proposal “… will offer illegal immigrants a way to ‘get right with the law’ while addressing the problematic legal status of the 11 million” in a way that ensures “they cannot have more or additional rights than folks who have been doing everything patiently and legally.” Until we see the bill’s language, it is not yet clear what this proposal might encompass.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is also reported to be working on an immigration bill that he plans to introduce next week. According to Politico, his proposal would allow undocumented immigrants to get a legal status for 6 years. Issa said “[i]f somebody has a nexus that would reasonably allow them to become permanent residents and American citizens, we should allow them to do that. … Our view is that long before six years, people would be in those categories heading toward some other pathway, in a guest worker program, or of course, have left the country.” Obviously this description raises more questions than it answers. Farmworker Justice will analyze the proposal when language is available. Also, as we reported last week, House Majority Leader Cantor (R.-Va.) is reportedly working on a bill for Dreamers referred to as the KIDS Act. 

Next week a coalition of conservative organizations and Republican activists will press Congress for immigration legislation. Stay tuned for more immigration reform updates.

Growers Seek Special Streamlined Process in H-2A Program Due to Government Shutdown

Last week, a group of over 20 House Representatives sent a letter to the Departments of Labor, State, and Homeland Security and to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services requesting that the processing of H-2A temporary agricultural guestworker visas be expedited due to a backlog caused by the government shutdown. Yet, the government shut-down also affected many other aspects of the Department of Labor’s duties, including its responsibilities to enforce occupational safety, wage and hour, and other important labor protections in the fields and in other workplaces.

The growers’ concern about access to their workforce points to the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants and the agricultural stakeholder agreement. While there is no shortage of farmworkers in the United States, there are many immigrant farmworkers who lack work authorization. Further, it is important to remember that there are 500,000 – 700,000 U.S. farmworkers and there is widespread discrimination against US workers in the H-2A program. Rep. Goodlatte’s Agricultural Guestworker Act, fails to provide even minimal worker protections in its massive new guestworker program, which would exacerbate this discrimination and drive down wages; ultimately, displacing many current farmworkers.

The House should support the bipartisan agricultural stakeholder agreement that is a product of compromise among the UFW, the Agricultural Workforce Coalition, and a bipartisan group of legislators. The stakeholder agreement, which is included in a proposal for comprehensive reform, HR 15 (now at 184 cosponsors), would stabilize the farm labor force, address the needs of both agricultural employers and farmworkers, and serve the national interest in a safe, secure food supply.

www.farmworkerjustice.org
www.facebook.com/farmworkerjustice.org
www.twitter.com/farmwrkrjustice