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Just how important is agricultural immigration reform? Judging by a letter that was sent to Congress last month, it's extremely important to almost 400 agricultural and green industry associations across the United States.
In the letter, the associations urge Congress to take legislative action on agricultural immigration reform now because their members rely, at least in part, on immigrant labor to get their crops planted and harvested.
The immigration reform issue is not limited to border states like Arizona and California. The associations supporting the letter are as varied as the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association and the Northeast Dairy Producers Association. To view a copy of the letter and the full list of its supporters, visit www.anla.org.
The associations urge legislators to reform the H-2A temporary-worker program to make it more responsive and affordable for producers nationwide. The H-2A program now gives employers who expect labor shortages an opportunity to bring in foreign workers on a seasonal basis, but many growers have not used the program because of its complexity and cost.
The American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA), which coordinated the letter and co-chairs the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform, reports that agricultural employers seek a one-time opportunity for trusted and experienced workers who lack proper authorization to earn legal status over time, subject to strict conditions.
The ANLA reports that, in 2006, worsening agricultural labor shortages and production losses were reported across the country. In California's Central Valley, for example, losses in the tree fruit and grape industries alone were estimated at about $75 million. In New York, agricultural lenders estimate that 900 dairy, fruit, vegetable and nursery farms will fail if Congress fails to enact stabilizing reforms soon.
Although the House passed a border security bill last year (H.R. 4437), it did not include a provision for a guest-worker program. The Senate, on the other hand, appeared willing to consider the guest-worker issue.
In an article published last March in the California Farm Bureau Federation's Ag Alert, Kate Campbell reported that with data from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Labor, and from its own studies, the American Farm Bureau Federation found that if Congress enacts legislation dealing only with border security, agriculture will be hit with losses in fruits and vegetables alone of between $5 billion and $9 billion a year.
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