Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate that would help undocumented farmworkers earn legal status.
California Senator and bill sponsor Dianne Feinstein says farms continue to struggle finding employees and increasing fears about being deported have stopped many from coming to work this season.
“The people who feed us should have an opportunity to work here legally and that’s what we do in this bill that we are proposing.”
The Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2017 would provide farmworkers who worked in agriculture at least 100 days over last two years a blue card and protect them from deportation. After three years, farmworkers can earn a green card and after five years apply to become a citizen.
A similar bill is expected to be introduced in the U.S. House next week by Illinois Congressmen Luis Gutiérrez. He says farm workers keep food production in the United States and they deserve to have legal protections.
Bruce Goldstein, president of the D.C.-based advocacy group Farm Worker Justice, says statements by the Trump administration about immigration enforcement has created a new set of circumstances that has caused a greater need for action. He says a majority of the nation’s 2.5 million farmworkers are undocumented.
Source: brownfieldagnews.com