Farm labor act passes, sees pushback
Whether the Farm Workforce Modernization Act will be the cure to the labor issues plaguing farmers and ranchers in the United States or not will be borne out in the months to come. What the act does provide are steps down a path of progress.
There are no firm numbers for how many undocumented workers there are in the United States. That is the heart of the argument against the Farm Workforce Modernization Act which is being discounted by some as nothing more than a “mass amnesty” for illegal aliens.
The act, which passed the House in D.C. 260-165, works to address some of the critical issues with agricultural labor. Among the solutions in the act is the ability for current agricultural workers to become legal citizens if they are working illegally, streamlining the H-2A program, and making better use of the E-Verify system.
Immigrants working in U.S. agriculture illegally may apply for legal status but will have to pay a $1,000 fine and meet one of the following criteria: if they have worked in agriculture for 10 years, they will have to continue to work in agriculture for an additional four years; or if they have worked in agriculture for less than 10 years, they will have to work in agriculture for an additional eight years.
The streamlining of the H-2A application process and a freeze of the constant inflation of the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) for one year with additional restrictions for wage increases through 2030.
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act provides means for H-2A applications to be funneled through a single online portal rather than filing each portion of the application through their respective agencies – Department of Labor, Department of Homeland Security, and State Workforce Agencies – in an effort to reduce both cost and processing times from 75 to 60 days.
The act also freezes the 2019 AEWR in each state – in Washington state that wage would remain at $15.03/hr, rather than jumping to $15.83/hr in 2020 – giving farmers a reprieve from the ballooning cost of H-2A wages. Between 2011 and 2020, the AEWR increased 49 percent in Washington state.
The final piece of the act would mandate the use of the E-Verify System for all agricultural employment to ensure a legal workforce. Opponents of E-Verify argue the system is flawed and delays during government shuts make it unreliable for verifying the legal status of employees.
Farmers and ranchers who utilize the H-2A program to back-fill their labor needs agree the process needs fixing. Immigration advocates agree the immigration system in the United States is flawed. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act offers a roadmap for change and that is good for farmers and farm labor.