An Unlikely Alliance for AgJobs: Growers and Immigrant Workers Seek Immigration Reform

Politico.com has an interesting immigration story (“Immigration laws dry up farming work force”) by Samuel Loewenberg.  It discusses the unlikely alliance of lobbyists Sharon Hughes and Bruce Goldstein for immigration reform. Hughes is the chief lobbyist for a coalition of agribusiness interests. Goldstein is a longtime advocate for farm worker rights. Long on opposite sides of the negotiating table, the two now are allies in a heated campaign to pass legislation (AgJobs) offering legal status to more than 1.2 million immigrant workers. Needless to say, the legislation faces tough opposition.

Recent crackdowns have left both growers and workers badly in need of relief. According to the Loewenberg article,

“The shortfall of workers is estimated at 20 percent, forcing farmers to forgo planting and let fields lie fallow. The legislation that Goldstein and Hughes are pushing, called AgJOBS, shorthand for the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security Act, has attracted broad support, including from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and more than 800 other organizations, such as church groups, as well as state agriculture officials.

‘Without AgJOBS, there will be shortages, crops will rot and American agriculture could face significant disruption,’ Sen. Dianne Feinstein said in a statement. The California Democrat has been busily schmoozing her fellow senators, including sympathetic Republicans, to build support for the bill.”

KJ