Senate to Vote on AgJobs

Immigration reform keeps coming back, in part because business needs labor.  After the recent failure of a limited DREAM Act, the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act (AgJOBS) as an amendment to the Senate Farm Bill. AgJOBS provides a path to legal status and citizenship for farmworkers and guarantees a steady flow of labor for our nation’s agricultural industry. There are many voices out there trying to block this legislation and the outcome on the vote is far from certain.

AgJOBS provides two paths to legal status for farmworkers. First, AgJOBS offers currently undocumented farmworkers the earn temporary legal status by meeting a past-work requirement in American agriculture. These farmworkers may later earn permanent immigration status and citizenship by meeting a future-work requirement of 3 to 5 additional years in the U.S. agriculture industry. Second, AgJOBS revises the H-2A visa program and would make it easier for seasonal laborers to work legally in the U.S.

It has been estimated that more than 50% of farmworkers are undocumented. These workers, like other undocumented immigrants, live in constant fear of being deported and separated from their families. AgJOBS, the product of years of careful negotiation, is supported by farmers, farmworker organizations and members of Congress from both parties.

KJ