House passes immigration bills
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021 passed with bipartisan support in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday.
The act, which Rep. Jimmy Panetta helped formulate, would provide undocumented farmworkers who are willing to continue to work in agriculture, and their immediate family members, legal immigration status and a path to citizenship. It would also reform and modernize the H-2A visa guest worker program to protect the agriculture workforce, and gradually implement the EVerify System.
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act became the first agricultural immigration bill approved by the House in more than 30 years in 2019, when it first passed the House in the 116th Congress but was not considered by the Republican-controlled Senate.
The legislation was reintroduced in early March by Rep. Zoe
Lofgren, chair of the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship, and Rep. Dan Newhouse, a farmer and former director of Washington state’s Department of Agriculture.
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021 was approved on a 247 to 174 vote, including 30 Republicans.
The 2021 legislation is the culmination of months of negotiations between lawmakers including Reps. Panetta (D-Carmel Valley), Mike Simpson, Jim Costa, Doug LaMalfa, Salud Carbajal and Mario Diaz-Balart, the United Farm Workers, UFW Foundation, Farmworker Justice and most of the nation’s major grower associations.
“For way too long, farmers and farmworkers all across our nation, including in our own communities on the central coast of California, have dealt with a broken and bureaucratic immigration system that has led to way too much uncertainty and instability in the agriculture industry,” said Panetta in a press release. “Fortunately, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act is a bipartisan solution that would protect the existing farmworker and promote an enduring farm workforce by providing an earned path to legalization for those willing to continue working in agriculture as well as a streamlined H-2A visa process.”
Panetta added that he hopes members of the Senate on both sides of the aisle will work together on passing the bill.
A study for FWD.us, a bipartisan political organization, found
that nearly 80% of voters support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants over an approach of deporting them.
The White House issued a statement on Thursday in support of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021.
“A path to immigration
status for undocumented farmworkers is critically important to our Nation’s food and agriculture sectors. A majority of the Nation’s roughly 2.4 million farmworkers are undocumented, living in the shadows, and vulnerable to exploitation, including human trafficking. During the pandemic, these workers have risked their lives, harvesting fruits and vegetables and raising and caring for livestock to bring food to our tables.”
Also on Thursday, the House passed the Dream and Promise Act of 2021 with bipartisan support. The bill would create a path to citizenship for at least 3 million immigrants, including Dreamers who came to the U.S. As children, and recipients of Temporary Protection Status and Deferred Enforced Departure, who came to the U.S. from countries devastated by natural or human-made disasters.
The Biden administration issued a statement in support of House passage of the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021.
“Americans recognize that our Nation is enriched by the contributions of immigrants. H.R. 6 is a critical milestone toward much-needed relief for the millions of undocumented individuals who call the United States home. Dreamers and TPS recipients are over-represented as essential workers and are helping to keep our economy and communities afloat during a global pandemic. Yet, these individuals continue to live in a state of precariousness and fear. Ensuring that Dreamers and TPS recipients have a clear path to citizenship would deliver much needed economic security and stability to millions of people who currently face perpetual uncertainty and vulnerability as a result of their immigration status.”