Underwood Statement on Passage of Bipartisan Immigration Legislation
WASHINGTON— Rep. Lauren Underwood (IL-14) released the following statement after the passage of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (H.R. 5308), bipartisan immigration legislation that modernizes and streamlines the H-2A program to ensure local businesses have access to the experienced workers they need without the red tape and extreme financial burden of the current system. The H-2A program allows business owners to apply for temporary visas for foreign workers to fill short-term seasonal jobs when American workers are not available.
"Our immigration system is broken and in need of urgent, bipartisan solutions. Today's passage is an important step that will help businesses and farmers in our community," said Underwood. "I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House, the Administration, and the Senate to ensure we get a bill signed into law that works for northern Illinois families and businesses."
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act would create a process for undocumented agricultural workers to apply for temporary certified agricultural worker (CAW) status, with an option to earn lawful permanent resident (LPR) status through continued agricultural work and the payment of penalties. The bill also would modernize and streamline the H-2A program to make it less burdensome and more cost-effective for employers while strengthening protections for all agricultural workers. Third, the bill would phase in mandatory E-Verify for the agricultural sector.
"This bill brings stability to our existing workforce and makes things simple for H2A workers. We all go through checking guest workers paperwork when we hire them and we assume they're good. We are not trained to review paperwork and statistics show 70 percent of them are not. A path to legality is very important these people are the backbone of our industry. I'm a Nursery farmer in Northern Illinois we grow flowers, landscape, and garden plants used in many of the gardening stores in the area. It is generally agreed that Agriculture is in desperate need of dependable laborers. In the springtime our business is at its peak, hundreds of thousands of acres were not planted because there would be no workers to neither plant nor harvest," said Peter Orum, Founder & Director of the Midwest Groundcovers and Midwest Trading.
"I am highly supportive of the farm workforce modernization act being proposed in Congress. As a former dairy farmer, I understand the difficulties being faced in the industry with labor issues. This is a specific area of need where something has to be done. Farmers are going out of business because they cannot find adequate labor. ½ of all dairy farm labor is provided by immigrants. Dairy farms need employees 365 days a year. This bill will allow dairy farmers to use the H2-A program for a three year visa period. It is not a perfect bill, but it is a start. The dairy industry has been trying for several years to get some changes made and the fact that this is bipartisan legislation gives me hope that we will finally get a solution that helps dairy farmers. Most people do not want to work on a dairy farm. Immigrant labor has been a reliable source for these jobs that no one else wants. I also like the part of this bill that allows current ag workers to earn the ability to stay and work on farms. It is not amnesty. It is an earned requirement that will benefit the dairy industry with adequate trained labor. We can no longer function without adequate labor to care for our cows and provide food for the American people," said Linnea Kooistra, Owner of Kooistra Dairy Farm LLC.
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