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The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) continues to mark-up S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. The Committee is likely to consider the agricultural sections later today. Yesterday, Monday, the SJC completed its work debating and amending … Read more Farmworker Justice Immigration Update: The Senate Judiciary Committee Continues to Mark-up S. 744

House Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing on the Agricultural Guestworker Act Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security held a hearing on the “Agricultural Guestworker Act,” H.R.1773, a bill introduced by Judiciary Committee Chair, Robert Goodlatte (R-VA). The … Read more Farmworker Immigration Update: House Immigration Subcommittee Hearing & Senate Mark-up of S.744

Prof. Hahamovitch's op-ed in the Miami Herald is a valuable lesson for the Congressional debate on immigration and agricultural guestworker programs. Labor protections exist under these programs for good reason, and should not be reduced, but a path to citizenship … Read more Protecting immigrant farm workers: Miami Herald Op Ed by Prof. Hahamovitch

Yesterday, the House immigration subcommittee held a hearing, “Agricultural Labor: From H-2A to a Workable Agricultural Guestworker Program,” amid the increasing momentum for immigration reform. While the hearing revealed broad areas of agreement in ongoing negotiations between farmworkers and growers, … Read more Momentum for Immigration Reform Grows: House Hearing Explores Current and Future Immigration Solutions for Farmworkers

On Saturday, the Washington Post printed a Letter to the Editor by Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice, responding to former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff’s OpEd on immigration reform. Chertoff argued that immigration reform legislation should not allow … Read more Immigration Update: News on the Future Flow of Immigrant Workers

Wednesday's judiciary committee hearing appeared to be a good step forward for comprehensive immigration reform. Unlike last week’s house judiciary panel,which largely pitted high-skilled visa reform against other pieces of immigration reform, yesterday’s hearing clearly focused on comprehensive reform. The … Read more Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Immigration Reform Was Generally Positive Except for Senators’ Push for Guestworker Program for Dairy Workers

Yesterday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing titled “America's Immigration System: Opportunities for Legal Immigration and Enforcement of Laws against Illegal Immigration,” addressed the current immigration system and the need for reform. The first panel of witnesses focused on the current legal … Read more Judiciary Committee Hearing on Immigration Revealed Misconceptions About Farmworkers

The public debate on immigration policy vitally affects the agricultural workers who cultivate and harvest our food. More than 80% of farmworkers are immigrants. Of the approximately 2 million seasonal workers on U.S. farms and ranches, over one-half lack authorized … Read more Farmworkers and Immigration: Priorities for Reform

Farmworker Justice has been working with the UFW Foundation and other farmworker groups to identify and address some of the unique barriers that farmworkers and their family members may face in accessing the recent Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood … Read more A Farm Worker with Dreams has DACA Application Approved

A recent settlement between the EEOC and a Georgia grower demonstrates the rampant discrimination against US workers in the H-2A agricultural guestworker program. The Georgia grower, Hamilton Growers, Inc.,aka Southern Valley Fruit and Vegetable, Inc.,agreed to pay $500,000 to the … Read more EEOC Settlement Highlights Discrimination against US Workers in H-2A Program