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Farmworker Justice Immigration Update 5/1/17

Executive Order on Rural Communities

On April 25, 2017, President Trump issued an Executive Order on “Promoting Agricultural and Rural Prosperity in America,” establishing an inter-agency task force to develop policies in this area, including changes that “ensure access to a reliable workforce” in agriculture. This language, as well as the composition of the task force, seems aimed at benefitting agri-business at the expense of farmworkers’ health and well-being, as noted by FJ President Bruce Goldstein in a recent op-ed. The order does not address farmworker concerns and was announced during a meeting of Trump and the new Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, with over a dozen agricultural employers, and no farmworkers or farmworker organizations present.

 

ICE Raids Pennsylvania Mushroom Farm

In an alarming sign that immigration agents may start conducting agricultural worksite raids, ICE agents raided a Chester County, PA mushroom farm last week, detaining at least nine workers. ICE was allegedly looking for four individuals; however none of these individuals was among the workers detained. According to the farm owner, ICE agents apparently did not have a warrant for entering the private property, raising questions about the raid’s lawfulness. The raid seems to contradict the Trump administration’s recent assurances to agricultural employers that it would be sensitive to the agriculture industry in its immigration enforcement actions.

 

Judge Enjoins “Sanctuary City” Provision of Trump Executive Order

Last week, a federal judge in California blocked the Trump administration’s threat to withhold federal funds from so-called “sanctuary jurisdictions”. As part of a lawsuit filed by the cities of Santa Clara and San Francisco, the judge issued a nationwide injunction of Section 9 of President Trump’s January 2017 Executive Order on immigration enforcement, which states that “sanctuary jurisdictions” will not be eligible to receive federal grants.  For more information on what constitutes a sanctuary jurisdiction, as well as the status of current litigation on this issue, please see ILRC’s FAQ on Sanctuary Cities.

 

Deal on 2017 Budget Reached, Possibly Averting Government Shutdown

After extending the budget approval deadline for an additional week (from April 28 to May 5), Congress announced yesterday that it had reached a deal on a more than $1 trillion spending bill for the rest of the 2017 fiscal year, which goes through September 30.  Although the bill does not include funding for construction of a border wall, it does include an additional $1.5 billion in funds for border security, with the limitation that the funds be used solely for technology investments and repairs to existing fencing and infrastructure. The Senate and House Minority leaders (Charles Schumer and Nancy Pelosi) stated that as part of the negotiations they were able to force Republicans to withdraw more than 160 unrelated policy measures, known as riders, from the bill. Unfortunately, policy riders on the H-2B guest worker program remain in the agreement, and an exemption from the H-2B cap for returning workers was added. Congress must pass the bill before Friday evening in order to avert a shutdown, and is expected to vote on it early this week.  The battle over the budget for fiscal year 2018, which starts on October 1st, has already begun, with President Trump demanding huge funding cuts.

 

Perdue and Acosta Confirmed to Key Cabinet Posts

Sonny Perdue was confirmed as Agriculture Secretary on April 24th with little opposition, although the vote did mark the first time since the Reagan administration that a USDA chief has not been unanimously approved.  Perdue has widespread support from agri-business groups. As Georgia’s governor, he signed anti-immigrant legislation that discouraged migrant farmworkers from traveling to the state, leading the next Governor to a failed experiment with prison labor.

The vote to confirm Alexander Acosta as Secretary of Labor on April 27th was more contested and mostly split along party lines.  Acosta had a controversial history in the Justice Department Civil Rights Division under George W. Bush.  However, many groups had expressed relief that at least one Cabinet member would come from the Latino community (Acosta is the son of Cuban immigrants).  During remarks at his swearing-in ceremony, Acosta stated that “too many Americans have seen jobs filled by foreign workers,” heightening uncertainty about how he will handle immigration-related issues during his tenure. His conservative views also raise questions about how he will address policy issues and wage-hour enforcement affecting farmworkers and their employers.

Farmworker Justice intends to help farmworkers have an impactful voice with these two new members of the President’s Cabinet.

 

Happy International Workers Day!

On this day of action and commemoration, we urge you to continue to stand up for workers’ rights and immigrants’ rights and thank you for all that you do in your respective communities.

——–

For more updates about key issues affecting farmworkers and the work of Farmworker Justice, including how to support our organization, please visit our website or follow us on social media.

Your support makes our work possible as we help farmworkers fight for justice.  Farmworker Justice is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization; donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.  Thank you for your support.

www.farmworkerjustice.org

www.facebook.com/farmworkerjustice

www.twitter.com/farmwrkrjustice

Executive Order on Rural Communities

On April 25, 2017, President Trump issued an Executive Order on “Promoting Agricultural and Rural Prosperity in America,” establishing an inter-agency task force to develop policies in this area, including changes that “ensure access to a reliable workforce” in agriculture. This language, as well as the composition of the task force, seems aimed at benefitting agri-business at the expense of farmworkers’ health and well-being, as noted by FJ President Bruce Goldstein in a recent op-ed. The order does not address farmworker concerns and was announced during a meeting of Trump and the new Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, with over a dozen agricultural employers, and no farmworkers or farmworker organizations present.

 

ICE Raids Pennsylvania Mushroom Farm

In an alarming sign that immigration agents may start conducting agricultural worksite raids, ICE agents raided a Chester County, PA mushroom farm last week, detaining at least nine workers. ICE was allegedly looking for four individuals; however none of these individuals was among the workers detained. According to the farm owner, ICE agents apparently did not have a warrant for entering the private property, raising questions about the raid’s lawfulness. The raid seems to contradict the Trump administration’s recent assurances to agricultural employers that it would be sensitive to the agriculture industry in its immigration enforcement actions.

 

Judge Enjoins “Sanctuary City” Provision of Trump Executive Order

Last week, a federal judge in California blocked the Trump administration’s threat to withhold federal funds from so-called “sanctuary jurisdictions”. As part of a lawsuit filed by the cities of Santa Clara and San Francisco, the judge issued a nationwide injunction of Section 9 of President Trump’s January 2017 Executive Order on immigration enforcement, which states that “sanctuary jurisdictions” will not be eligible to receive federal grants.  For more information on what constitutes a sanctuary jurisdiction, as well as the status of current litigation on this issue, please see ILRC’s FAQ on Sanctuary Cities.

 

Deal on 2017 Budget Reached, Possibly Averting Government Shutdown

After extending the budget approval deadline for an additional week (from April 28 to May 5), Congress announced yesterday that it had reached a deal on a more than $1 trillion spending bill for the rest of the 2017 fiscal year, which goes through September 30.  Although the bill does not include funding for construction of a border wall, it does include an additional $1.5 billion in funds for border security, with the limitation that the funds be used solely for technology investments and repairs to existing fencing and infrastructure. The Senate and House Minority leaders (Charles Schumer and Nancy Pelosi) stated that as part of the negotiations they were able to force Republicans to withdraw more than 160 unrelated policy measures, known as riders, from the bill. Unfortunately, policy riders on the H-2B guest worker program remain in the agreement, and an exemption from the H-2B cap for returning workers was added. Congress must pass the bill before Friday evening in order to avert a shutdown, and is expected to vote on it early this week.  The battle over the budget for fiscal year 2018, which starts on October 1st, has already begun, with President Trump demanding huge funding cuts.

 

Perdue and Acosta Confirmed to Key Cabinet Posts

Sonny Perdue was confirmed as Agriculture Secretary on April 24th with little opposition, although the vote did mark the first time since the Reagan administration that a USDA chief has not been unanimously approved.  Perdue has widespread support from agri-business groups. As Georgia’s governor, he signed anti-immigrant legislation that discouraged migrant farmworkers from traveling to the state, leading the next Governor to a failed experiment with prison labor.

The vote to confirm Alexander Acosta as Secretary of Labor on April 27th was more contested and mostly split along party lines.  Acosta had a controversial history in the Justice Department Civil Rights Division under George W. Bush.  However, many groups had expressed relief that at least one Cabinet member would come from the Latino community (Acosta is the son of Cuban immigrants).  During remarks at his swearing-in ceremony, Acosta stated that “too many Americans have seen jobs filled by foreign workers,” heightening uncertainty about how he will handle immigration-related issues during his tenure. His conservative views also raise questions about how he will address policy issues and wage-hour enforcement affecting farmworkers and their employers.

Farmworker Justice intends to help farmworkers have an impactful voice with these two new members of the President’s Cabinet.

 

Happy International Workers Day!

On this day of action and commemoration, we urge you to continue to stand up for workers’ rights and immigrants’ rights and thank you for all that you do in your respective communities.

——–

For more updates about key issues affecting farmworkers and the work of Farmworker Justice, including how to support our organization, please visit our website or follow us on social media.

Your support makes our work possible as we help farmworkers fight for justice.  Farmworker Justice is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization; donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.  Thank you for your support.

www.farmworkerjustice.org

www.facebook.com/farmworkerjustice

www.twitter.com/farmwrkrjustice