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Immigration reform proposal wins ag group praise

Agriculture groups with an interest in immigration praised the proposal unveiled by eight senators to resolve the nation’s immigration problems.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to give a major address on immigration reform Tuesday in Nevada.

The senators’ proposal says in reference to agriculture, "individuals who have been working without legal status in the United States agricultural industry have been performing very important and difficult work to maintain America’s food supply while earning subsistence wages.”

“Due to the utmost importance in our nation maintaining the safety of its food supply, agricultural workers who commit to the long-term stability of our nation’s agricultural industries will be treated differently than the rest of the undocumented population because of the role they play in ensuring that Americans have safe and secure agricultural products to sell and consume,” the proposal states.

“These individuals will earn a path to citizenship through a different process under our new agricultural worker program.”

Separately, the proposal also says that immigration reform must help the dairy industry, which needs year-round employees rather than seasonal workers.

The senators are Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., John McCain, R-Ariz., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., Bob Menendez, D-N.J., Mario Rubio, R-Fla., Michael Bennet, D-Colo. and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.

“The principles put forward today by a bipartisan group of eight senators serves as an important first step as Congress begins the task of crafting legislation to address the issue of immigration,” said the Agriculture Workforce Coalition.

“Each of these eight senators should be commended for the leadership and thoughtfulness shown in moving to address this issue, one of particular importance to agriculture.”

The coalition has said that immigration reform should include both “at will” and “contract” work," which would presumably cover workers brought to the United States to perform specific jobs.
Chuck Conner
Chuck Conner
“The framework released today by these eight senators represents a positive starting point from agriculture’s perspective, and we look forward to working with them as the legislative process continues to unfold,” said Chuck Conner, president and CEO of the National Conference of Farmer Cooperatives, a member of the coalition.

“What is notable in their proposal,” Conner continued, “is their recognition of two of the principles that have driven the AWC’s efforts: first, that the current, experienced farm workers who may lack legal status need to be given a chance at adjusting their status; and second, that agricultural employers need to have access to a program to provide a skilled workforce as current employees move on to other sectors.”
Tom Stenzel
Tom Stenzel
“This bipartisan initiative addresses a top priority and longstanding challenge for fresh produce industry employers,” said Tom Stenzel, president and CEO of the United Fresh Produce Association. “We’re encouraged these senators have taken the lead and we look forward to further developing these principals into effective legislation.”

Tom Nassif, president and CEO of Western Growers, a California and Arizona group, said, “We have worked for years with Sens. McCain and Flake on a solution for the immigration crisis facing agriculture. We applaud them for developing these principles and look forward to working together with them along with Sens. [Dianne] Feinstein [D-Calif.] and Rubio to ensure the agriculture piece of this critical legislation addresses our industry’s concerns once and for all.”
Tom Nassif
Tom Nassif
“The bipartisan Senate principles include a separate path to legalization for existing falsely documented agriculture workers that would allow producers to keep their experienced workforce,” Nassif said. “The principles also propose creating a workable program for attracting new employees in the future to do many of these jobs which Americans are not taking.”

The coalition has proposed an uncapped Agricultural Worker Visa Program including two options:

“At-will” employees have the freedom to move from employer to employer without any contractual commitment. They would have a visa term of up to 11 months with USDA-registered employers and then return home for 30 days. There would be no limit on the number of times a person could obtain the 11-month visa.
Contract employees commit to work for an employer for a fixed period of time and would have a visa term of up to 12 months (renewable indefinitely), and conditioned upon a commitment to return to their home country for at least 30 days over a three-year period.
Farm worker groups have not reacted yet to the senators’ proposals, but the National Restaurant Association said it was encouraged by the proposal.
Scott DeFife
Scott DeFife
“An accurate and reliable employment verification system is one part of the fix that is needed to make immigration laws work for U.S. businesses and the U.S. economy,” said Scott DeFife, the association’s executive vice president of policy and government affairs.

“But it’s only a first step — eventually, worksite enforcement must be accompanied by provisions that give employers who have made every reasonable effort to hire Americans a way to hire legal foreign workers to keep their businesses open and contributing to the U.S. economy.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
Feinstein was not a part of the coalition, but she issued a statement today that she considered the framework “a major step forward in the effort to reform our broken immigration system.”

“These reforms must also address the issue of undocumented labor currently in American agriculture, as well as reform the broken H-2A visa program to ensure farmers have legal means to hire workers for planting and harvesting when local agriculture workers cannot be found,” Feinstein said.

Noting that she is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will consider the proposal, Feinstein added, “A pathway to citizenship is a critical component of any immigration reform proposal.”

Deb Atwood, executive director of AGree, a foundation-funded effort on long-term agricultural policy, said her group supports the senators’ efforts and believes immigration reform should include “a practical and economically viable guest worker program that allows employers to hire legal foreign workers and protects foreign and U.S. farm workers.”
GlickmanDan
Dan Glickman
“Our rural and agriculture communities rely on foreign born workers to fill a critical labor need, making an effective immigration policy absolutely vital to the health of our economy and the future of our agricultural system,” said former Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, co-chairman of AGree.

“We applaud the bipartisan principles as an important step toward effective immigration policy, and look forward to delving deeper in to the agricultural aspects. It’s only through bipartisan commitment that we will ensure the stability of our food supply, and protect and advance both U.S. and foreign-born workers.”