Agriculture – ImmigrationReform.com

DHS Allows Agricultural Guestworkers to Stay Indefinitely

Preston Huennekens — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 16:46:36 +0000

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to spur change across the federal government’s leviathan bureaucracy. On April 15, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new, “temporary” rule change to the H-2A agricultural guestworker program. This temporary rule now allows employers to begin hiring H-2A workers who are already in [...]

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U.S. ‘Waives’ Through Foreign Farm Hands as Unemployment Soars

Bob Dane — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 08:56:44 +0000

In the face of skyrocketing unemployment, the federal government continues to put foreign workers on a fast track for U.S. agricultural jobs. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo authorized consular officers to waive the visa interview requirement for first-time and returning H-2 (semi-skilled, blue-collar) applicants, including farm workers. “We anticipate the vast majority of otherwise qualified [...]

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Arizona City Sees Exponential Increase in Foreign Workers

Casey Ryan — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 21:22:25 +0000

An Arizona city known as the nation’s “Winter Salad Bowl” for its production of lettuce witnessed its number of foreign agricultural workers increase by almost 33 percent in just three years. Yuma accommodated 2,858 foreign workers through the H-2A visa program in 2016, but that number escalated to 3,800 by 2019, according to The Washington [...]

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Washington State Farmers Growing Reliance On Cheap Labor

Casey Ryan — Tue, 11 Sep 2018 16:42:50 +0000

H-2A applications have surged in the state by more than 1,000 percent in the past ten years.

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Powerful Ag Group Once Again Standing in the Way of Mandatory E-Verify

RJ Hauman — Sat, 21 Jul 2018 10:00:22 +0000

On Wednesday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) introduced the bipartisan AG and Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 6417) – legislation that would mandate E-Verify and create a new agricultural guest worker program. The bill’s introduction represents the first step in fulfilling a promise made by House Speaker Paul Ryan to hold a vote on [...]

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A Confused Trump Would Run Farm Workers Deeper Into the Ditch

Bob Dane — Fri, 04 May 2018 13:39:23 +0000

President Donald Trump had them – then he didn’t. Speaking to an appreciative crowd in Michigan last weekend, Trump got thunderous ovations for his repeated pledge to protect U.S. jobs. Then, turning to agriculture, he declared, “We have to let people come in. They’re going to be guest workers, they’re going to work on your [...]

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