Farm labor bill introduced as Senate session nears end

By Caleb Hampton

The U.S. Senate is considering a last-minute bill to provide a path to legal status for undocumented farmworkers and reform the H-2A temporary worker program.

The Affordable and Secure Food Act, introduced by Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado on Dec. 15, is modeled on the Farm Workforce Modernization Act that passed in the House nearly two years ago.

It faces long odds, with the final days of the 117th Congress ticking down. Democratic lawmakers have a narrow window to convince at least 10 Republican senators to support the farm labor reforms. Agricultural groups such as the International Fresh Produce Association, Western Growers and the California Fresh Fruit Association are urging lawmakers to pass it.

Approving the legislation “will help ensure a stable, legal agricultural workforce and secure the reliability of our domestically produced food supply,” Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia said in a statement. “The alternative—the deteriorating status quo—is to resign ourselves to food insecurity.”

Bennet and other supporters of the bill are aiming to include it in the omnibus appropriations bill, which could be the last legislation passed before Republicans take control of the House next month. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, the House GOP leader, has said he will not bring any immigration legislation to a vote in the next two years.

In recent Farm Bureau surveys, half of California farmers and ranchers said they are unable to hire all the employees they need. The worker shortage has contributed to increased food prices, which have risen by more than 11% over the last year.

The Affordable and Secure Food Act would create a “certified agricultural worker” status, authorizing farmworkers to live and work in the U.S. Farmworkers lacking legal status who performed at least 180 days of agricultural labor during a two-year period preceding passage of the legislation could apply for the certified-worker status, which would be valid for five-and-a-half years and could be extended.

Eventually, long-term certified farmworkers and their immediate families could earn permanent residency, or green cards, after paying a $1,000 fine and working in agriculture for an additional four to eight years, depending on how long they have already worked in the sector. According to some estimates, close to half a million California farmworkers could gain legal status under the act.

The legislation would also modernize the H-2A program, which serves as a stopgap when there aren’t enough domestic farmworkers.

The bill would establish an electronic platform to streamline the filing process for H-2A petitions, expand the program and make it more affordable. It would let workers change jobs without leaving the country, and open the program to dairy farmers and farmers of other nonseasonal commodities, allowing those workers to stay in the U.S. year-round.

The bill would also freeze H-2A wages for the next year—and limit future rate increases—to reign in mounting labor costs.

The legislation, a compromise with support from growers, farmworkers, Democrats and some Republicans, would also establish an electronic verification system, modeled on E-Verify, and require agricultural employers to confirm their workers are authorized to work in the U.S.

Last month, farm groups visited dozens of Senate offices, urging them to get a bill over the finish line before control of Congress changes hands. “We have spent decades on an issue that needs to be resolved now,” said California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson, speaking at an event with lawmakers at the Capitol.

(Caleb Hampton is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at champton@cfbf.com.)