Editorial — Working for farmers: Legislation would benefit immigrant laborers in agriculture

If signed into law, the legislation would authorize the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to grant certified agricultural worker status on undocumented workers who meet specific criteria. These call for applicants to have performed at least 1,035 hours of agricultural labor within the two-year period prior to Nov. 12, were inadmissible or deportable on that date and have been continuously present in the United States from that date until receiving CAW status, according to the bill. CAW status is good for five-and-a-half years and may be extended.

“DHS may grant dependent status to the spouse or children of a principal alien,” the bill reads. “An alien with a pending application may not be detained or removed by DHS and shall be authorized for employment until DHS makes a final decision on the application. A CAW alien (and dependents) may apply for lawful permanent resident status after meeting various requirements, including performing a certain amount of agricultural labor for a number of years.”

The bill also would benefit dairy farmers by revising H-2A visas. This program is now limited to seasonal workers. But the proposed legislation would offer these visas to year-round employees as well.

“I was proud to help the House pass this bipartisan legislation to ensure our farmers have access to a stable, legal workforce, allowing them to continue to produce abundant, safe, and affordable food,” Stefanik said in a news release. “North country farmers have been waiting for agricultural labor reform for years, and this is a major step towards a real solution to the issues facing their workforce.”

Supporters of the bill recognize its value for those in the agricultural industry.

“Proponents of the bill have said it’s a critical move to support the agriculture industry — particularly year-round industries — in its time of crisis due to a struggling economy, attacks on seasonal worker visa programs and an increasing number of employee audits by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials,” according to a story published Sunday by the Watertown Daily Times. “The access to H-2A work visas would be groundbreaking for the large dairy industry in upstate New York, which was comprised of nearly 4,300 farms in 2017, according to the state Department of Agriculture. Because low-skill work visas are currently reserved for temporary, seasonal industries, the dairy farm industry tends to have largely undocumented workers. The bill would not only give farm workers access to legal status and eventually green cards, but would also streamline the application process for seasonal worker visas, raise wages and allow agriculture workers access to more green cards.”

This proposed legislation has some definite pluses. However, advocates for immigrants’ rights also have concerns over the control that farmers maintain over undocumented workers.

“Your eligibility for this program is highly reliant on remaining in the good graces of the employer,” Emma Kreyche, advocacy director with the Worker Justice Center of New York, said in November. “It leaves workers incredibly vulnerable, and of course undocumented workers are also extremely vulnerable.”

This situation must be closely monitored to ensure abuses do not occur. It would be a shame for a few rogue employers to sully a program designed to enhance many in the agricultural industry.

But overall, the bill’s provisions are positive steps forward. The U.S. Senate should pass the legislation and send it to President Donald Trump for his signature.