Bipartisan Farmworkers Immigration Bill Passes House

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Lou Correa’s (D-CA-46) Farm Workforce Modernization Act passed the House. This bipartisan bill—introduced with Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-19) and Dan Newhouse (R-WA-04)—that ensures California unties to be the breadbasket of the nation, and that our nation continues to feed the world.

This nonpartisan bill was carefully negotiated over eight months with numerous input from agricultural stakeholders and labor organizations and was introduced with the support of 26 Democrats and 23 Republicans.

“Today marks a historic moment for our country and our farmworkers. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act makes huge progress for America’s farmworkers and farmers. This bill will finally treat our immigrant farmworkers with the dignity and respect they have earned and create a pathway to citizenship, and I am proud so many of my colleagues joined me in passing this bill," said Congressman Correa.

“Countless immigrants come to the United States and do jobs most Americans won’t do. For decades these individuals have been treated poorly while our economy and farmers have depended on them. Without immigrants in our fields, our tables would be bare, and our markets empty. These individuals are integral to our society and have helped make America the breadbasket of the world. They have earned a seat at our table.”

“The men and women who work America’s farms feed the nation. But, farmworkers across the country are living and working with uncertainty and fear, contributing to the destabilization of farms across the nation,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren. “Our bill offers stability for American farms by providing a path to legal status for farmworkers. In addition, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act addresses the nation’s future labor needs by modernizing an outdated system for temporary workers, while ensuring fair wages and workplace conditions. I urge the Senate to follow the House’s lead and swiftly pass the first-of-its-kind bipartisan immigration compromise in decades that improves America’s agricultural labor programs and laws.”

“Creating a legal and reliable workforce for American agriculture has been one of my highest priorities since coming to Congress,” said Rep. Dan Newhouse. “Our farmers and ranchers facing a labor crisis need relief, and the men and women who contribute to our nation’s agriculture industry need certainty. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act is the first step. This bill is our opportunity to finally provide stability to America’s farms and a significant improvement over the status quo. I am grateful to Representative Lofgren, our bipartisan coalition, and all of the agriculture and labor groups who helped draft the bill, and I encourage input from my colleagues as we continue working to improve this legislation in the Senate.”

Click here for a one-pager, click here for bill text and click here to read a letter of support from more than 300 agricultural groups.

Background:

Farmers and ranchers across the United States are in desperate need of a high-quality, reliable workforce, and the current H-2A guestworker program is in need of meaningful, bipartisan reform. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act creates a workforce solution

for America’s agriculture industry by providing stability, predictability, and fairness to one of the most critical sectors of our nation’s economy.

The bill will:

• Establish a program for agricultural workers in the United States to earn legal status through continued agricultural employment and contribution to the U.S. agricultural economy.
• Reform the H-2A program to provide more flexibility for employers, while ensuring critical protections for workers. The bill focuses on modifications to make the program more responsive and user-friendly for employers and allows access to the program for industries with year-round labor needs.
• Establish a mandatory, nationwide E-Verify system for all agricultural employment with a structured phase-in and guaranteed due process for authorized workers who are incorrectly rejected by the system.

Rep. Lou Correa represents California’s 46th Congressional District. He serves as Chair of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, and as the Vice-Chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet. Read more here.

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