Blog

Farmworker Justice Immigration Reform Update 5/2/14

Congress

There are new signs that the House Republican leadership may bring immigration reform to a vote before the summer recess. House Speaker Boehner (R-OH) mocked some House Republicans during a Rotary Club talk: “Here's the attitude. ‘ Ohhhh. Don't make me do this. Ohhhh. This is too hard.’…We get elected to make choices. We get elected to solve problems and it's remarkable to me how many of my colleagues just don't want to….” Boehner took some heat for these statements and subsequently blamed the House’s failure to pass immigration reform on Republicans’ distrust of Obama’s willingness to enforce the laws. Still, Boehner’s criticism combined with other Republican House members’ statements indicate that they are feeling pressure from many constituencies and could move forward on immigration reform soon.

Last week, Representatives Aaron Schock and Adam Kinzinger, both Illinois Republicans, released videos supporting immigration reform that includes legal status for undocumented immigrants; Schock specifically called for a path to citizenship while Kinzinger used the term legal status. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), a member of House Republican leadership, recently said that she believes that an immigration bill could get through the House by August. Rep. Peter King (R-NY) sent a letter to Speaker Boehner urging him to bring to a vote an immigration bill that includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) surprisingly announced that he intends to introduce a bill to give undocumented children a path to citizenship and undocumented adults legal status, as well as add border security provisions. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) has promised to introduce legislation soon.

Actions

Immigration reform advocates continue their efforts around the country. The United Farm Workers organized a major event at the Bakersfield, CA the office of House Republican Whip Kevin McCarthy last week. More than 1,000 farmworkers from all over California personally delivered the message that “I harvest for 10 hours a day. Can you take 10 minutes to schedule a vote?” At the same time Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), the farm workers union of Oregon, held a rally and protest in front of Rep. Greg Walden’s (R-OR) office. Among those arrested was PCUN President Ramon Ramirez, who is chair of the Board of Directors of Farmworker Justice.

On Wednesday, 10 youth activists led other advocates and family members in a civil disobedience action in front of House office buildings calling for immigration reform. On May Day, rallies around the country honored workers and called on Congress to pass immigration reform and on the President to stop the deportations. The AFL-CIO kicked off a May Day Light Projection — 2Million2Many Deportations– on the face of its national office building located just blocks from the White House. The 3-day projection highlights immigrant workers who have been deported or are in deportations proceedings. Check out the National Immigration Law Center’s May Day buzzfeed about immigrant workers.

H-2A Program: Rapid Growth and Continued Abuse of Workers

The H-2A agricultural guestworker program has more than doubled in size during the past eight years. This rapid growth demonstrates the program’s responsiveness to agribusiness but also the importance of passing immigration reform that grants undocumented farmworkers an opportunity to earn immigration status and citizenship. Click here to read more about the H-2A program’s recent growth and its implications.

Abuse of the H-2A program continues to be an issue across the country. In Washington, Sakuma Brothers Farms is seeking to use the H-2A program to replace its domestic workforce of over 400 seasonal farmworkers in retaliation for organizing. The workers organized Familias Unidas por la Justicia and went on strike last year to demand better wages and working conditions. Sakuma, located an hour north of Seattle, WA is a major supplier of berries to Haagen Dazs. The workers returned to work before the end of the season, but the dispute over wages and other conditions remained unresolved, so they began a boycott of Sakuma berries. As counsel to workers in Familias Unidas, Farmworker Justice and Schwerin Campbell Barnard Iglitzin & Lavitt LLP have requested that the Department of Labor (DOL) deny Sakuma Brothers’ Farm’s petition for H-2A workers.

Also highlighting abuses in the H-2A program is the recent news that the DOL has sued a strawberry grower based in Watsonville, CA, Fernandez Farms Inc., and its president, Gonzalo Fernandez. According to the press release:

“nearly $1 million in back wages to approximately 400 farm workers for minimum wage and overtime violations. Additionally, the department seeks more than $1 million in penalties for those wage violations and for egregious violations of the H-2A temporary non-immigrant worker program, which include a failure to hire qualified U.S. workers and allegedly requiring workers to pay a substantial sum of their earnings to cover costs of the program.”

DOL also alleges that the employer impeded its investigation by “intimidating workers and coercing them to hide from or lie to investigators, resulting in an extended investigation.” Farmworker Justice applauds DOL for addressing H-2A abuses.

These cases illustrate the problems with the H-2A program and guestworker programs in general. Workers’ visas are tied to one employer making them vulnerable to abuse because they are dependent on their employer for continued employment and for a visa in a future year. Moreover H-2A workers are often desperate to work as they may arrive in debt having paid substantial recruitment fees and travel costs.

Despite the evident need for increased protections for guestworkers, Rep. Goodlatte’s bill (R-VA), H.R. 1773, has fewer worker protections than the H-2A program and even the notoriously abusive Bracero program. Congress should reject harsh guestworker proposals such as Rep. Goodlatte’s and instead pass immigration reform that includes the agricultural stakeholder agreement.

The agricultural stakeholder agreement, a compromise reached between a bipartisan group of Senators, the United Farm Workers and the Agricultural Workforce Coalition, is included in both S. 744 and H.R. 15. Farmworker Justice supports the stakeholder agreement because it would provide a path to legal status and eventual citizenship for undocumented farmworkers, as well as create a new agricultural visa program that was negotiated by worker and employer organizations. More information is available on our website.

Congress

There are new signs that the House Republican leadership may bring immigration reform to a vote before the summer recess. House Speaker Boehner (R-OH) mocked some House Republicans during a Rotary Club talk: “Here's the attitude. ‘ Ohhhh. Don't make me do this. Ohhhh. This is too hard.’…We get elected to make choices. We get elected to solve problems and it's remarkable to me how many of my colleagues just don't want to….” Boehner took some heat for these statements and subsequently blamed the House’s failure to pass immigration reform on Republicans’ distrust of Obama’s willingness to enforce the laws. Still, Boehner’s criticism combined with other Republican House members’ statements indicate that they are feeling pressure from many constituencies and could move forward on immigration reform soon.

Last week, Representatives Aaron Schock and Adam Kinzinger, both Illinois Republicans, released videos supporting immigration reform that includes legal status for undocumented immigrants; Schock specifically called for a path to citizenship while Kinzinger used the term legal status. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), a member of House Republican leadership, recently said that she believes that an immigration bill could get through the House by August. Rep. Peter King (R-NY) sent a letter to Speaker Boehner urging him to bring to a vote an immigration bill that includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) surprisingly announced that he intends to introduce a bill to give undocumented children a path to citizenship and undocumented adults legal status, as well as add border security provisions. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) has promised to introduce legislation soon.

Actions

Immigration reform advocates continue their efforts around the country. The United Farm Workers organized a major event at the Bakersfield, CA the office of House Republican Whip Kevin McCarthy last week. More than 1,000 farmworkers from all over California personally delivered the message that “I harvest for 10 hours a day. Can you take 10 minutes to schedule a vote?” At the same time Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), the farm workers union of Oregon, held a rally and protest in front of Rep. Greg Walden’s (R-OR) office. Among those arrested was PCUN President Ramon Ramirez, who is chair of the Board of Directors of Farmworker Justice.

On Wednesday, 10 youth activists led other advocates and family members in a civil disobedience action in front of House office buildings calling for immigration reform. On May Day, rallies around the country honored workers and called on Congress to pass immigration reform and on the President to stop the deportations. The AFL-CIO kicked off a May Day Light Projection — 2Million2Many Deportations– on the face of its national office building located just blocks from the White House. The 3-day projection highlights immigrant workers who have been deported or are in deportations proceedings. Check out the National Immigration Law Center’s May Day buzzfeed about immigrant workers.

H-2A Program: Rapid Growth and Continued Abuse of Workers

The H-2A agricultural guestworker program has more than doubled in size during the past eight years. This rapid growth demonstrates the program’s responsiveness to agribusiness but also the importance of passing immigration reform that grants undocumented farmworkers an opportunity to earn immigration status and citizenship. Click here to read more about the H-2A program’s recent growth and its implications.

Abuse of the H-2A program continues to be an issue across the country. In Washington, Sakuma Brothers Farms is seeking to use the H-2A program to replace its domestic workforce of over 400 seasonal farmworkers in retaliation for organizing. The workers organized Familias Unidas por la Justicia and went on strike last year to demand better wages and working conditions. Sakuma, located an hour north of Seattle, WA is a major supplier of berries to Haagen Dazs. The workers returned to work before the end of the season, but the dispute over wages and other conditions remained unresolved, so they began a boycott of Sakuma berries. As counsel to workers in Familias Unidas, Farmworker Justice and Schwerin Campbell Barnard Iglitzin & Lavitt LLP have requested that the Department of Labor (DOL) deny Sakuma Brothers’ Farm’s petition for H-2A workers.

Also highlighting abuses in the H-2A program is the recent news that the DOL has sued a strawberry grower based in Watsonville, CA, Fernandez Farms Inc., and its president, Gonzalo Fernandez. According to the press release:

“nearly $1 million in back wages to approximately 400 farm workers for minimum wage and overtime violations. Additionally, the department seeks more than $1 million in penalties for those wage violations and for egregious violations of the H-2A temporary non-immigrant worker program, which include a failure to hire qualified U.S. workers and allegedly requiring workers to pay a substantial sum of their earnings to cover costs of the program.”

DOL also alleges that the employer impeded its investigation by “intimidating workers and coercing them to hide from or lie to investigators, resulting in an extended investigation.” Farmworker Justice applauds DOL for addressing H-2A abuses.

These cases illustrate the problems with the H-2A program and guestworker programs in general. Workers’ visas are tied to one employer making them vulnerable to abuse because they are dependent on their employer for continued employment and for a visa in a future year. Moreover H-2A workers are often desperate to work as they may arrive in debt having paid substantial recruitment fees and travel costs.

Despite the evident need for increased protections for guestworkers, Rep. Goodlatte’s bill (R-VA), H.R. 1773, has fewer worker protections than the H-2A program and even the notoriously abusive Bracero program. Congress should reject harsh guestworker proposals such as Rep. Goodlatte’s and instead pass immigration reform that includes the agricultural stakeholder agreement.

The agricultural stakeholder agreement, a compromise reached between a bipartisan group of Senators, the United Farm Workers and the Agricultural Workforce Coalition, is included in both S. 744 and H.R. 15. Farmworker Justice supports the stakeholder agreement because it would provide a path to legal status and eventual citizenship for undocumented farmworkers, as well as create a new agricultural visa program that was negotiated by worker and employer organizations. More information is available on our website.