New administration seeks immigration legislation ByKevinHecteman
“We support the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which passed the House of Representatives in late 2019,” Johansson said. That bipartisan bill laid out a process for seeking Certified Agricultural Worker
piece, wherewe reallyneed those reforms tomake theprogrameasier touse, eligible for all of agriculture.” With the Senate evenly split and a 10- seatmarginbetweenparties in theHouse, bipartisanship will be crucial, Crittenden
actual viable option for them.” H-2A streamlining was included in the 2019 FarmWorkforceModernization Act, whichsought toconsolidate the filingpro- cess throughanelectronicplatform, allow employers to fileonepetition for staggered startdates, providevisaholderswiththree- year visas and expand eligibility to year- round employers such as dairies, among other changes. “Immigration legislationmust first deal fairly with the existing farm workforce and their families, and it should ease the process for people who want to enter the UnitedStates legally towork on farms and ranches,” Johansson said. The U.S. Department of Labor an- nounced Jan. 20 that it was withdrawing a forthcomingfinal ruleconcerningtheH-2A program, releasedJan. 15inthefinaldaysof theTrumpadministration.That rulewould have converted the program to electronic filing and allowed for staggered entry on a single application, among other changes. Inanannouncement on itswebsite, the Department of Labor said it was pulling the rule “for the purpose of reviewing is- sues of law, fact and policy raised by the rule.” The department said more infor- mation would be forthcoming once the reviewwas complete. (Kevin Hecteman i s an ass i stant editor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at khecteman@cfbf.com.)
Agricultural employees in the United States without authorization would get a path to citizenship under a propos- al the Biden administration intends to send to Congress. The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021would open the door to eventual citizenship for undocumented immigrants who were living in the United States on or before Jan. 1, 2021. Under the bill—which had not been introduced in Congress as of our Ag Alert® deadline—undocumented agricultur- al employees who meet specific criteria would be eligible for green cards immedi- ately; after threeyears, all green-cardhold- erswhopassadditionalbackgroundchecks andcandemonstrateknowledgeofEnglish andU.S. civics could apply for citizenship. Under the legislation, people covered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and those holding Temporary Protected Status would also be eligible for immediate green cards. All others would need to apply for temporary legal status first, andcouldapply for green cards in five years if they pass background checks and pay their taxes. “TheCalifornia FarmBureauhas a long record of supporting immigration reform, andwe look forward toreviewing thepres- ident’s proposal,” FarmBureau President Jamie Johansson said.
“Immigration legislation must first deal fairly with the existing farm workforce and their families, and it should ease the process for people who want to enter the United States legally to work on farms and ranches.” —Jamie Johansson California Farm Bureau President
status for peoplewhohaveworkedat least 180days inagricultureduring theprevious twoyears, andofferedanopportunity for a green card to those willing to pay a $1,000 fine and work additional time in agricul- ture. Despite passing the House, the bill was never taken up in the Senate. Allison Crittenden, director of congres- sional relations at the American Farm Bureau, said she sees the president’s new proposal as amixed bag. “It addresses the current workforce by providing themwith green cards and then expedited citizenship,” she said, “but what it leaves out is that guestworker
noted, calling the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 “a starting point.” “I think it’s good that agriculturewasn’t left out of the bill entirely,” she said, “so at least there’s recognition that agriculture has needs within the immigration space.” Farm Bureau’s job now, she added, is “to help those in Congress understand how they can build on that starting point and work to address the big pic- ture, which is the current workforce,” but also address the H-2A agricultural visa program, “to make sure that those who use the guestworker program, those who will use it in the future, (that) it’s an
REQUESTAFREE S7SPINNERKIT SPRINKLER // HAT // LITERATURE INFO@NELSONIRRIGATION.COM
S7 SPINNER AMICRO-SPRINKLERLIKENOOTHER
FLOW REGULATION AT LOWER PRESSURE
QUICK-CLEAN TECHNOLOGY
SUPERIOR WEAR LIFE
NELSONIRRIGATION.COM — WALLA WALLA, WA U.S.A.
4 Ag Alert January 27, 2021
Powered by FlippingBook