FJ Blog

Farmworker Justice Legislative Action Alert June 17, 2013
Tuesday, 18 June 2013

Please call the Members of Congress on the House Judiciary Committee, especially if they represent your district. The list is below. Tell them to OPPOSE the Goodlatte “Agricultural Guestworker Act,” H.R. 1773. On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a “mark up” to debate, amend and probably vote on H.R. 1773. Rep. Goodlatte (R.-Va.) chairs the Judiciary Committee; his bill’s cosponsors include Rep. Gowdy (R-SC) chair of the immigration subcommittee.

This bill would establish a new H-2C agricultural guestworker program that would lower farmworkers’ wages, eliminate labor protections that have existed for decades under the H-2A and Bracero programs, minimize government oversight, allow displacement of US farmworkers and exploitation of vulnerable guestworkers, and deprive farmworkers of meaningful access to the justice system.

The bill would not allow undocumented farmworkers in the United States, or their family members, to earn green cards or the opportunity for citizenship. It does not fix our broken immigration system; it would make it far worse.

This anti-worker, anti-immigrant bill is inconsistent with the approach taken by the Senate “Gang of Eight” in the tough but acceptable labor-management compromise on agricultural workers in the bipartisan immigration proposal, S.744. Read the Farmworker Justice legislative analysis of the Goodlatte Agricultural Guestworker Act at our website page on Immigration Reform and Farmworkers.

Committee Members are listed below. You may reach them by calling the US Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

Republicans

Goodlatte (R) Chairman, Virginia, 6th

Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R) Wisconsin, 5th

Coble (R) North Carolina, 6th

Lamar Smith (R) Texas, 21st

Chabot (R) Ohio, 1st

Bachus (R) Alabama, 6th

Issa (R) California, 49th

Forbes (R) Virginia, 4th

King (R) Iowa, 4th

Franks (R) Arizona, 8th

Gohmert (R) Texas, 1st

Jordan (R) Ohio, 4th

Poe (R) Texas, 2nd

Chaffetz (R) Utah, 3rd

Marino (R) Pennsylvania, 10th

Gowdy (R) South Carolina, 4th

Amodei (R) Nevada, 2nd

Labrador (R) Idaho, 1st

Farenthold (R) Texas, 27th

Holding (R) North Carolina, 13th

Collins (R) Georgia, 9th

DeSantis (R) Florida, 6th

Democrats

Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member, (D) Michigan, 13th

Nadler (D) New York, 10th

Scott (D) Virginia, 3rd

Watt (D) North Carolina, 12th

Lofgren (D) California, 19th

Jackson Lee (D) Texas, 18th

Cohen (D) Tennessee, 9th

Johnson (D) Georgia, 4th

Pierluisi (D) Puerto Rico, (At-large)

Chu (D) California, 27th

Deutch (D) Florida, 21st

Gutierrez (D) Illinois, 4th

Bass (D) California, 37th

Richmond (D) Louisiana, 2nd

DelBene (D) Washington, 1st

Garcia (D) Florida, 26th

Jeffries (D) New York, 8th

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by Megan Horn
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Farmworker Justice Immigration Update - June 14, 2013
Monday, 17 June 2013

The House

Last week, the House Judiciary Committee gave notice that it will mark-up Rep. Gowdy’s “SAFE Act” (H.R. 2278) beginning this Tuesday, and then it will proceed to mark-up Rep. Goodlatte’s “Agricultural Guestworker Act” or “AG Act” (H.R. 1773). The Safe Act would effectively criminalize immigrants’ unlawful presence, making millions of aspiring citizens who could benefit from legalization subject to criminal prosecution. It would also give enormous authority to state and local police officers to enforce immigration law without federal oversight.

Rep. Goodlatte’s “Agricultural Guestworker Act,” H.R. 1773, is not only one of the worst guestworker bills in decades, it also fails to address our broken immigration system. Instead of providing a solution that includes a roadmap to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants, this bill would convert the labor force of an entire industry, from the fields to the agricultural processing plants, into to an army of guestworkers. While some undocumented farmworkers would be allowed to become guestworkers, there are no provisions for their family members. The bill would separate families, displace US farmworkers and lower the already low wages and working conditions of farmworkers. It is also inconsistent with the bipartisan, labor-management compromise in the Senate immigration bill.

We encourage you to contact your representatives and members of the House Judiciary Committee to ask them to oppose these bills. The capitol switchboard number is 202-224-3121. We will also be sending out a sign-on letter opposing the bills soon. Please watch for it as it will require a quick turnaround.

The Senate

Today, the Senate will resume debate on the “Gang of 8” bipartisan immigration bill, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Economic Modernization Act of 2013, S.744. Votes on amendments are not expected until Tuesday, followed by intense debate for the rest of the week.

Over 100 amendments have already been filed, with more expected (there is no deadline to file amendments). Last week, Sen. Grassley’s Amendment #1195 was tabled (not allowed to go forward) by a vote of 57-43. The amendment would have delayed the implementation of the broad legalization program until the Secretary of Homeland Security submits a certification of effective control and full deployment and completion of the border security strategies in the bill. Many more amendments imposing additional “triggers” before the legalization programs can take effect have been filed, some of which would also impact the farmworker “Blue Card” legalization program for farmworkers. Other amendments have been filed on a variety of topics as well. We are in the process of analyzing them and will provide more information on them shortly.

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by Renato Rocha
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Farmworker Justice Immigration Reform Update 6/11/13
Tuesday, 11 June 2013

Senate Update

The Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act, S.744, has moved to the Senate floor. Senate Majority Leader Reid plans to offer robust opportunity for debate on the bill and proposed amendments. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Leahy (D-VT), who supports the bill, will manage the floor for the Democrats, but will have less control over the debate than he had in the committee. He encouraged Senators to file amendments early to maintain a transparent process. Senate rules allow the Senators to offer amendments on any part of the bill at any time. We expect that hundreds of amendments will be filed. Republican floor time will be divided between proponents and opponents of the bill. Senator Reid expects that debate on S.744 will continue for three weeks with a final vote before the July 4 recess.

Senator Reid filed motions to initiate debate S.744 last Thursday. The vote on the motion for cloture (to end debate) on the motion to proceed will be at 2:15 today (Tuesday). On Friday, Senators began making opening statements on the comprehensive immigration reform bill. Of note, Senator Boxer (D-CA) in her opening remarks discussed the need to protect the careful compromise reflected in the agricultural worker provisions. Senator Lee (R.-UT) repeatedly called the bill, “an immigration version of Obamacare.”

House Update

Last week, Rep. Labrador made news when he withdrew from the House “gang of eight” working on a comprehensive immigration reform bill due to irreconcilable differences over access to health care benefits. The gang reportedly still plans to file it in June. However, there is no guarantee that the House Judiciary Committee will take up the bill, as Judiciary Committee Chair Goodlatte (R-VA) prefers a piecemeal approach to immigration reform. Speaker Boehner has promised that immigration reform bills will go through full House process (meaning they will have to go through the committee process first), so the House gang of (now) seven’s bill may never receive a vote.

However, the House does not need to pass a comprehensive bill in order for an immigration reform bill to go to a House-Senate conference committee. The House could pass one or several piecemeal bills, which would then go to a conference committee with S.744 (assuming it passes the Senate), which would be charged with creating one final bill that would return to both houses for a final vote. If each body approves the conference committee’s compromise bill, then it would be delivered to the President’s desk for his veto or signature.

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by Megan Horn
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