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Posted on Sat, Jan. 13, 2007

Bill would aid immigrant farm labor
Workers' 'blue card' could lead to residency in U.S.
By Danica Coto
McClatchy Newspapers

An estimated 150,000 illegal immigrants working in the fields of North and South Carolina would get temporary work permits and possibly legal status under a bill introduced in Congress this week.

Under the bill, introduced in both the House and Senate, workers would qualify for "blue cards" if they've worked in agriculture for 150 work days in the past two years. Their relatives also could qualify.

Once they obtain a blue card, up to 1.5 million workers nationwide could eventually become permanent residents.

"We need labor. We need to identify these people," said N.C. farmer Dale Bone, president of the National Council of Agricultural Employees, a nonprofit that lobbies Congress on farm-labor issues.

Bone owns a 14,000-acre farm in northeastern Nash County that produces mostly cucumbers and sweet potatoes. He employs up to 1,100 workers during the harvesting and packing period and estimates less than 5 percent are here legally.

"They want their papers," said Bone, adding that he files employment-eligibility verification forms and checks documents but suspects many are fake.

The Carolinas still have a vibrant agricultural economy, with tobacco, sweet potato and cucumber fields, as well as peach orchards.

Democratic Rep. David Price of Chapel Hill said the bill would resolve a murky legal situation for many N.C. workers. Plus, "it would help assure a steady supply of labor for critical seasonal jobs that are often hard to fill," he said.

Reps. Sue Myrick and Patrick McHenry, Republicans who have taken an enforcement-only stance on immigration reform, didn't return calls for comment Thursday. The bill has bipartisan support in the House and the Senate.

North Carolina ranks seventh nationwide in the number of illegal immigrants, with an estimated 390,000. The majority work in construction and agriculture; a smaller percentage come legally through a temporary agricultural worker program called H-2A.

Though the demand for agricultural jobs has grown, the number of H-2A workers has dropped from an all-time high of 10,000 seven years ago to 6,500 in 2006, according to the N.C. Growers Association. Farmers say that's because the wages are too high, and they have to provide workers free housing and transportation to and from their native countries.

It's hard to use the H-2A program and remain competitive with businesses who hire illegal immigrants and pay lower salaries, said Louis Stacy, owner of Stacy's Garden Center, a nursery in York, S.C., adding that he has hired H-2A workers.

H-2A workers in North Carolina earn more than $9 an hour under the program; those in South Carolina earn about $8.45 an hour.

If the new AgJobs program is approved, workers would earn about $7.54 an hour, which Stacy called "reasonable." It's similar enough to the $7.25 minimum wage that U.S. House members approved Wednesday, allowing businesses to remain somewhat competitive, he said. The minimum wage in North Carolina is $6.15.

The proposed AgJobs wages eventually would increase after a three-year freeze, however.

"We certainly need reform and relief in North Carolina," said Stan Eury, executive director of the N.C. Growers Association. "But unfortunately, AgJobs doesn't fix the program to the level where growers would use it en masse."

Even if the new program is approved, the H-2A program will still be needed, said Baldemar Velasquez, president of North Carolina's Farm Labor Organizing Committee, a farmworker union. Many workers won't stay long in the AgJobs program because they'll seek higher wages through H-2A or in construction, he said.

Alex, 28, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who lives in Charlotte, N.C., did just that. He came to the U.S. in 1996 and found a job harvesting tomatoes, peppers and cotton on a small Mecklenburg County farm. He chose that job because he said it was the easiest given his limited English-language skills. A few years later, he switched to construction because it pays more.

It's too early to say whether the bill will garner enough support to pass in upcoming months, but Price said lawmakers wanted to get an early start.

"Immigration is a big issue for this Congress," he said. "But it's an open question as to whether the AgJobs bill will be the main vehicle for immigration reform."