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WASHINGTON — Lawmakers have struck a deal that would give legal status to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrant farmworkers in exchange for stronger employee verification in the agricultural sector, a bipartisan group will announce Wednesday.
The deal could reach the House floor as early as the end of November.
The United States' agricultural business is largely ran on the back of undocumented foreign labor. In fact, more than 50% of those employed in agriculture are undocumented. That means there are more than a million people living in the shadows but who a vital part of delivering food to American households.
Not only do they live in the shadows for fear of deportation but many are even too afraid to access much needed healthcare or to speak out against employee abuse.
Several Valley congressional representatives helped introduce a bipartisan bill Wednesday they say is geared toward providing a path to legal status for more than 250,000 undocumented California farm workers.
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act would update regulations for temporary workers, promise fair wages for farm workers and fund farm worker housing. The bill provides a path to legal status for workers who can prove they've worked in agriculture in the past and will continue working in ag in the future, according to a news release.
A bipartisan group of House members revealed an immigration bill to prop up the dwindling agricultural labor base by regularizing the status of foreign-born workers.
Drawing broad bipartisan and industry support, House lawmakers on Oct. 30 introduced the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.
The legislation has three main parts:
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced two new bills addressing immigration issues Wednesday, but both will face tricky paths through Congress and uncertain fates if they ever reach President Donald Trump's desk.
The two pieces of legislation, one augmenting services for current immigrants and refugees and the other an attempt at reforming immigrant agricultural labor programs, introduce fresh concepts and reconfigured compromises that, even if not passed, the authors and supporters hope will inject new life into the debate.
America is fortunate to have a large and diverse agricultural economy. Our citizens — and millions of others across the world — have grown to depend on the high-quality food and goods we produce.
Our farmers and ranchers face many obstacles in today's global economy, from international trade and market access to ever-changing technologies and regulations. None of these are as pressing for American agriculture as the lack of a legal, high-quality and reliable workforce.
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers have struck a deal that would give legal status to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrant farmworkers in exchange for stronger employee verification in the agricultural sector, a bipartisan group will announce Wednesday.
The deal could reach the House floor as early as the end of November.
COSTA CENTRAL, Calif. - En una conferencia de prensa, algunos representantes de California en conjunto con la Unión de Trabajadores del Campo, presentaron una propuesta llamada Acta de Modernización de la Industria Agrícola. Mediante esta propuesta se pretende un camino hacia la ciudadanía para alrededor de 250,000 campesinos en California. Si es aprobada, lo que pretende es proteger a los trabajadores del campo y la economía del estado.
As the latest Monterey County Crop Report was introduced on June 26 in Salinas, frustration over immigration and the lack of a viable guest worker program bubbled up and over the top. Farm workers shared they were living in fear and agricultural leaders said they didn't have enough people to plant and harvest crops.