Farmworker Justice Immigration Update 10/2/15

The Pope calls for Immigration Reform and Boehner Quits
Last week Pope Francis visited New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC where he spoke at the White House and to Congress. The Pope spoke passionately about welcoming immigrants and refugees and treating them with dignity.

Among the events surrounding the Pope’s visit, We Belong Together organized the 100 Women, 100 Miles Pilgrimage, in which 100 mostly-immigrant women walked from a detention center in York, Pennsylvania to Washington, DC to greet the Pope and to demand that migrants be treated with dignity and respect. Along the way, the women met with farmworker members of CATA, the Farmworker Support Committee, to dialogue about successful organizing campaigns among excluded workers.

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH), a Catholic, had invited the Pope to speak to Congress. The day after the Pope’s speech, the Speaker announced that he is retiring from Congress at the end of October. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is favored to become the new Speaker and there is likely to be a more competitive race to succeed him as Majority Leader.

As you may remember from previous updates, Kevin McCarthy represents Bakersfield and other areas in Kern County, CA, a district that is 35% Latino and home to many farmworkers. McCarthy has been the target of many protests pushing for immigration reform organized by the United Farm Workers, the UFW Foundation and other groups, but he has not expressed support for comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. The change in leadership is not likely to change the prospects for getting a CIR bill passed in the House nor to change the way Congress functions. The divisions in the Republican Party remain and McCarthy is likely to face the same challenges and obstacles to passing legislation as Boehner.

On Wednesday, the last day of the fiscal year, Congress passed legislation to temporarily fund the government for FY 2016. Despite efforts by some conservative lawmakers to defund Planned Parenthood at the risk of forcing a government shutdown, Congress passed a government spending bill through December 11th when it will have to revisit the budget fight. Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) attempts to block the funding bill were stopped procedurally by Republican leadership and most of the other GOP Senators who are apparently tired of his antics.

New Bill Offers Undocumented Immigrants Access to Healthcare
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), an ardent advocate for immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, introduced the Exchange Inclusion for a Healthy America Act of 2015 on Wednesday, which would expand health insurance access to millions of immigrants, including over a million farmworkers and their family members. The bill would provide undocumented immigrants with equal access to the health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, including federal subsidies, if they are otherwise qualified for them. Farmworker Justice applauds the bill, which would have a great impact on the health of farmworkers and their families. While the bill is unfortunately not expected to move very far in this Congress, it sends a strong message about the need for a humane, fair approach to immigrants.

North Carolina Seeks to Ban Municipalities’ Community Trust Policies
The North Carolina legislature passed an anti-immigrant bill that would ban local government’s community trust policies that prevent local law enforcement officers from asking about a suspect’s immigration status and sharing immigration information with federal authorities. The bill would also limit the type of identification cards that government agencies may accept. Some law enforcement officers have stated that the inability to accept IDs from embassies and other institutions will require them to arrest people for driving without a license rather than issuing tickets. The bill would be harmful to communities as immigrants who are victims and witnesses of crimes will be less likely to come forward if they are unable to trust law enforcement officers. The Governor has not yet signed the bill. Contact the NC Justice Center for more information.

Farmworker Labor News

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Delano, California grape strike and boycott, when Larry Itlong and Pete Velasco led Filipino American farmworkers in a strike and asked the mostly Latino union led by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta to join them. The two groups would later merge and form the United Farm Workers Union. The United Farm Workers held an event to commemorate the event in Delano.

Congratulations to the brave farmworker women and their attorney, Victoria Mesa, who won a $17.42 million in a sexual harassment lawsuit against Moreno Farms in Florida.

Farmworker Justice is pleased that the EPA issued an improved Worker Protection Standard (WPS) Monday and that it includes many important new protections from exposure to pesticides for farmworkers. Farmworker Justice has worked for many years to improve the WPS in collaboration with many organizations. Read Farmworker Justice’s statement here.
 

The Pope calls for Immigration Reform and Boehner Quits
Last week Pope Francis visited New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC where he spoke at the White House and to Congress. The Pope spoke passionately about welcoming immigrants and refugees and treating them with dignity.

Among the events surrounding the Pope’s visit, We Belong Together organized the 100 Women, 100 Miles Pilgrimage, in which 100 mostly-immigrant women walked from a detention center in York, Pennsylvania to Washington, DC to greet the Pope and to demand that migrants be treated with dignity and respect. Along the way, the women met with farmworker members of CATA, the Farmworker Support Committee, to dialogue about successful organizing campaigns among excluded workers.

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH), a Catholic, had invited the Pope to speak to Congress. The day after the Pope’s speech, the Speaker announced that he is retiring from Congress at the end of October. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is favored to become the new Speaker and there is likely to be a more competitive race to succeed him as Majority Leader.

As you may remember from previous updates, Kevin McCarthy represents Bakersfield and other areas in Kern County, CA, a district that is 35% Latino and home to many farmworkers. McCarthy has been the target of many protests pushing for immigration reform organized by the United Farm Workers, the UFW Foundation and other groups, but he has not expressed support for comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. The change in leadership is not likely to change the prospects for getting a CIR bill passed in the House nor to change the way Congress functions. The divisions in the Republican Party remain and McCarthy is likely to face the same challenges and obstacles to passing legislation as Boehner.

On Wednesday, the last day of the fiscal year, Congress passed legislation to temporarily fund the government for FY 2016. Despite efforts by some conservative lawmakers to defund Planned Parenthood at the risk of forcing a government shutdown, Congress passed a government spending bill through December 11th when it will have to revisit the budget fight. Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) attempts to block the funding bill were stopped procedurally by Republican leadership and most of the other GOP Senators who are apparently tired of his antics.

New Bill Offers Undocumented Immigrants Access to Healthcare
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), an ardent advocate for immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, introduced the Exchange Inclusion for a Healthy America Act of 2015 on Wednesday, which would expand health insurance access to millions of immigrants, including over a million farmworkers and their family members. The bill would provide undocumented immigrants with equal access to the health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, including federal subsidies, if they are otherwise qualified for them. Farmworker Justice applauds the bill, which would have a great impact on the health of farmworkers and their families. While the bill is unfortunately not expected to move very far in this Congress, it sends a strong message about the need for a humane, fair approach to immigrants.

North Carolina Seeks to Ban Municipalities’ Community Trust Policies
The North Carolina legislature passed an anti-immigrant bill that would ban local government’s community trust policies that prevent local law enforcement officers from asking about a suspect’s immigration status and sharing immigration information with federal authorities. The bill would also limit the type of identification cards that government agencies may accept. Some law enforcement officers have stated that the inability to accept IDs from embassies and other institutions will require them to arrest people for driving without a license rather than issuing tickets. The bill would be harmful to communities as immigrants who are victims and witnesses of crimes will be less likely to come forward if they are unable to trust law enforcement officers. The Governor has not yet signed the bill. Contact the NC Justice Center for more information.

Farmworker Labor News

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Delano, California grape strike and boycott, when Larry Itlong and Pete Velasco led Filipino American farmworkers in a strike and asked the mostly Latino union led by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta to join them. The two groups would later merge and form the United Farm Workers Union. The United Farm Workers held an event to commemorate the event in Delano.

Congratulations to the brave farmworker women and their attorney, Victoria Mesa, who won a $17.42 million in a sexual harassment lawsuit against Moreno Farms in Florida.

Farmworker Justice is pleased that the EPA issued an improved Worker Protection Standard (WPS) Monday and that it includes many important new protections from exposure to pesticides for farmworkers. Farmworker Justice has worked for many years to improve the WPS in collaboration with many organizations. Read Farmworker Justice’s statement here.