Thread: Ag worker bill revived after defeat of immigration reform

Ag worker bill revived after defeat of immigration reform
By Laura Layden

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Though a comprehensive immigration bill has failed in Congress, supporters aren’t giving up on legislation that could legalize more than a million farmworkers in the United States.

The legislation, known as AgJobs, was included in the sweeping reform bill that suffered a crushing defeat last month.

Backers are searching for ways to breathe new life into the agricultural program they say is needed to deal with worker shortages that have left crops unpicked and rotting in fields.

For more than seven years, supporters have pushed AgJobs, short for the Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits and Security Act, as a way to provide a more stable, secure and safe work force for the U.S. agriculture industry. It would overhaul the H-2A guest worker program and give experienced farmworkers the chance to become legal residents in this country.

Under the program, undocumented workers could earn legal status if they show they’ve worked in U.S. agriculture for at least 150 days during the past two years. It would be capped at 1.5 million workers.

There has been talk of attaching AgJobs to the 2007 Farm Bill, which sets the nation’s agriculture policy.

“That is one of the options that is being looked at. It certainly is not the only one — and I’m not sure I would characterize it as the prime option,â€

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This is a never ending struggle. Once they become citizens they will be one of those Americans that don't want to do that job anymore!!

The problem is this: they do not want work in agriculture!! We have 3,000 or more per day streaming across the border right now, and still we do not have enough agri-workers??? They want better jobs, and are taking them from Americans and lowering our wages. Construction used to be a good paying job for Americans, not any more!

MOD EDIT

If someone figured up what the total cost has been in terms of prison term costs, WIC, SSI, food stamps, hospital bankruptcies, their 'free' emergency room costs, their 'free' attorney's fees, lost wages, their 'free' K-12 education, increased uninsured motorists costs, their suing everyone in sight, I'm certain they would conclude that we don't need a bunch of lettace this badly!!

The AgJobs bill is a big back door amnesty. All the illegals will get fake documents that they worked in agriculture, and the government will not investigate them.

Good point, Bowman.

Feinstein is quoted in the article:

"But agriculture faces a major crisis. The only way farmers and growers can harvest their crops today is with undocumented workers,’’ she said.

She estimates that in California alone, there are nearly a million undocumented workers harvesting crops, with as much as 90 percent of the farm labor payroll going to these workers. "


So they have been knowingly employing illegal workers all these years. Instead of being rewarded with an AgJobs bill, the industry should be severely fined.

If Americans will not do the work at the wages you are willing to pay, then your industry should transfer to a country where workers want to work at those wages. That will be a way for the the rest of the world to develop. That will lessen the push factors that contribute to illegal immigration.

Dear XXXX XXXX

Thank you for writing to me about the immigration reform debate that has been taking place during the 110th Congress.

The current immigration system is not working - our borders are broken, our national security is compromised, and there is no feasible way to identify and deal with the 10 to 12 million undocumented people now living in the United States. I understand there were mixed reactions to the bipartisan bill that the Senate considered and that there are very strong feelings about this issue. I believe that while that bill was not perfect, it was a reasonable compromise.

Unfortunately, the comprehensive immigration reform bill has stalled in the Senate. Therefore, I believe the next step must be to pass the individual priorities contained within the larger bill, starting with the "Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security Act of 2007" (AgJOBS). AgJOBS is an important bill to address the current labor shortage facing agriculture today. It will allow certain undocumented agricultural workers to legalize their immigration status in the United States if they can show that they have been working in agriculture and commit to continue working in agriculture for three to five years. It will also reform the current H-2A agricultural guest worker program to streamline the process for applying for a legal workforce.

Again, thank you for writing. I have enclosed a copy of a floor statement I gave when immigration reform was first brought up for debate for your review, so that you may better understand my position on this issue. I hope that you will continue to write on matters of importance to you. Best regards.

Above is a copy of the response received from Feinstein about the ag bill.

The only reason she is pushing this is because she wants more Democratic voters. Talk about culture of corruption!!

The only reason she is pushing this is because she wants more Democratic voters. Talk about culture of corruption!!

This man will not quit until he gets AGJOBS and Immigration "reform" totally twisted into something the special interests are looking for!