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Amnesty for Agricultural Workers
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VICTORY: Massive Amnesty for Illegal Aliens Working in Agriculture Thwarted — for Now
(November 6) Sensing defeat was imminent, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D- Calif.) said yesterday she will not try to attach her revised Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2007 (AgJOBS) to the Farm Bill Extension Act of 2007.
“When we took a clear-eyed assessment of the politics of the farm bill and the defeat of the DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform,” Feinstein said in a statement, “it became clear that our support could not sustain these competing forces."
Feinstein has been trying for the past two years to get the AgJOBS amnesty passed, either on its own or as part of the two ‘comprehensive’ immigration packages, each time resulting in the defeat of her bill. If enacted, AgJOBS would reward an estimated 1.5 million illegal aliens with amnesty (plus their spouses and children which could push the total to three million or more), and would provide amnesty for employers who broke the law by hiring illegal aliens.
Feinstein indicated yesterday that she is not giving up on her massive amnesty for illegal aliens, and will ask Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to bring AgJOBS back to the Senate floor either later this year or early in 2008.
Last spring, AgJOBS bills, which would provide amnesty to illegal alien farm workers, were re-introduced in the Senate and House. S. 237, S. 340, and H.R. 371 – sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D- Calif.) and Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) respectively – would identify “vacant” agricultural jobs that could be filled by as many as 1.5 million illegal aliens and new foreigners over five years.
Click here  to read a brief overview of the AgJobs amnesty rejected by Congress last spring |
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Under the provisions of these bills, illegal alien farm workers would be able to obtain a “blue card” granting temporary legal status for themselves and their families if they could show they have worked in the U.S. at least 863 hours or 150 work days (5.75 hours constituting a work day) during the preceding two years. Subsequently, to apply for legal residency, they must demonstrate that they have worked in agriculture here: (1) 100 work days per year each of the first five years following enactment; (2) 150 work days per year each of the first three years following enactment; or (3) over the course of the first four years after enactment, 150 work days per year for three of those years and 100 work days for the other.
The Senate passed AgJOBS legislation as part of its “comprehensive” immigration bill (S. 2611) in 2006, but the measure died when the House refused to take it up before adjournment. In addition, both the House and Senate saw stand-alone AgJOBS measures (H.R. 884 and S. 359) introduced during the 109th Congress.
Widely touted as a “guest worker” proposal, AgJOBS is an amnesty that would reward people who have violated U.S. immigration laws, and it would invite past violators to return to and encourage new illegal aliens to enter the United States. “AgJOBS is unpopular with voters and costly to taxpayers; it will encourage illegal immigration, invite fraud, and overwhelm adjudicators without providing a stable, legal agriculture workforce,” said Roy Beck, executive director of NumbersUSA.
Amnesty for estimated 3 million
Of the 1.2 million illegal aliens currently working in agriculture, an estimated 860,000 plus their spouses and children could qualify for this amnesty, so the total could reach three million or more.
Past amnesty for agricultural workers failed
The 1986 Special Agriculuture Worker (SAW) amnesty showed that when illegal aliens working in agriculture are given green cards, they leave agriculture for other higher-paying occupations. And any form of amnesty entices hundreds of thousands of new illegal aliens, some of whom will work in agriculture, to enter thus continuing to depress wages in all fields including agriculture.
Bill would doom agricultural workers to poverty
AgJOBS legislation would ensure that agricultural workers will never be paid more than minimun wage. Furthermore, it would ensure that taxpayers continue having to subsidize the workers and their families by providing public benefits of education, emergency health care, and income supplements (including tax refunds) for the workers and their families.
Agricultural workers already unemployed
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 107,000 American agricultural workers were unemployed in April 2004. Furthermore, low-skilled workers, many capable of agricultural work, have been the hardest hit by the recent high unemployment. The unemployment rate is almost a third higher for those American workers without a high-school diploma. In February 2004, Alan Greenspan announced that America has an oversupply of low-skilled, low-educated workers. (“Greenspan Calls for Better-Educated Workforce,” Washington Post, 21 February 2004).
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