Current U.S. immigration laws make it difficult for farmers/companies to hire labor to work on farms. However, with even more stringent immigration laws being proposed, the California Farm Bureau has said that farmers/companies may find it even harder to harvest the produce that so many consumers demand.

Congress is currently considering the implementation of new laws that would require farmers/companies to use the federal E-Verify system to verify that farm workers are qualified to work legally in the United States. According to California Farm Bureau President Paul Wenger, who testified before Congress earlier this week, employees who have worked in California agriculture for years may not qualify for employment under the E-Verify program.

"E-Verify without a workable, economical way to ensure a legal agricultural work force will be a disaster for American agriculture," said Wenger to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement.

Native Californians have not taken on seasonal agricultural work, in spite of the economic recession and rising unemployment. Instead, they continue to focus on urban jobs that have predictable schedules. Specifically, U.S. citizens don't want to trade shift jobs at the mall and fast food restaurants for long days spent harvesting in the fields.

According to Wenger, this phenomenon calls for Congress to take steps to make it easier, not harder, for immigrant workers to secure work on U.S. farms and ranches.

"The daunting reality is that a true solution must be capable of converting or replacing these workers with legally authorized workers," he said.

Less than 5 percent of immigrant workers have registered for the existing agricultural immigration program, H-2A. The California Farm Bureau has therefore challenged Congress to create an improved program that will allow hundreds of thousands of undocumented workers to continue to work in the agriculture industry.

Stay tuned for further updates from our Los Angeles County immigration law blog ...

Due to the continued complexity of U.S. immigration laws with respect to naturalization and the exposure to facing a denial of this petition, it is critical to speak with a legal professional who has extensive specialized knowledge and experience in immigration law.

This post was provided for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice.

Source:

The Fresno Business Journal, "Farm Bureau wants new immigration plan" Feb. 10, 2012