Two more bills addressing foreign-born agricultural workers have been introduced in the U.S. Senate.
‘Blue card’ proposal
Senate Democrats introduced the “Agricultural Worker Program Act,” a bill drafted to shield current undocumented farm workers from deportation.
Under the bill, workers would be eligible for “blue card” status if they were employed in agriculture for at least 100 days in each of the past two years. Workers who maintain a blue card for three or five years (depending on total hours worked in agriculture) would then be eligible to adjust to a green card or legal permanent residency.
The bill was introduced by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), and co-sponsored by Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Kamala Harris (D-California).
In introducing the bill, Feinstein said up to 70 percent of California farmworkers—approximately 560,000 people—are undocumented. She said the bill was needed to protect those workers from increased deportation enforcement, while also ensuring the state’s agricultural industries, including dairy, have an adequate workforce.
“Across our country, including the many dairy farms of Vermont, foreign workers support agriculture and help put food on our tables,” said Leahy. “It is past time we show our support for them and our understanding of the challenges that farmers and workers face in doing the hard work of dairy farming. Our bill would allow these workers to come out of the shadows and contribute to their farms and communities without fear of arrest.”
“California has the largest agricultural economy in the country, and our famers rely on the labor of undocumented immigrant workers,” said Harris. “It’s past time and smart for our economy that we provide them a pathway to citizenship, decent working conditions, and the opportunity to come out of the shadows and more fully contribute to our state and national economy.”
“This bill serves as a necessary step until we can enact a long-term solution by passing comprehensive immigration reform,” Bennet said.
State-based visa pilot program
On the other side of the political aisle, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) introduced the “State Sponsored Visa Pilot Program Act of 2017.” The bill would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act and, as the name suggests, would allows states to manage guest worker visa programs tailored to their individual workforce needs.
A companion bill was expected to be introduced in the House by Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colorado).
“We have a shortage of workers in all different areas of the economy,” said Johnson, chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. “We need to recognize that a one-size-fits-all federal model for visas or guest workers doesn’t work. Let the states manage the visas, allocate them to the industries that need the workers, set prevailing wage rates. I think states would do a better job of protecting their state workers—American workers—as well as making sure their industries have the people they need to be able to grow”
The program would require oversight of the federal government, including the Department of Homeland Security, but most of the heavy lifting would be placed on states wishing to opt in. States would have to create enabling legislation and structure to administer the program. States would create a database of businesses, identifying the number and type of workers needed. Annual worker quotas would be established, and states would have the authority to regulate length of visa (to a maximum of three years), as well as renewal provisions.
States could also create compacts to share workers. For example, California, Oregon and Washington could share workers as crop harvests move north.
States would be allowed to increase, or be forced to give up, quota based on enforcement compliance rates providing incentives to select trustworthy migrant workers and monitor them.
The American Dairy Coalition, a national organization lobbying on behalf of dairy and agricultural industries, has been a major driver for immigration policy reforms outlined under Johnson’s bill. The idea of state-based visa was developed by the Cato Institute in 2014, in an effort to break the federal political gridlock.
“Immigrants are not taking American jobs,” said Laurie Fischer, CEO of the American Dairy Coalition “These immigrants serve a crucial labor force needed to bolster our industry, and in turn, create additional jobs more appealing to our domestic workforce. Legalized immigrant labor allows dairy farm businesses to thrive and grow, providing opportunities for American citizens all the way through the supply chain.”
In addition to the American Dairy Coalition, the state-based visa program has the endorsement of the South Dakota Dairy Producers, Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania and the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association.
Read other Progressive Dairyman articles on immigration reform proposals
Court ruling, election will determine immigration reform pace and direction
House bills create dairy worker access through H-2A visa program
Idaho Dairymen pressing for immigration reform leadership
Immigrant labor: Policy changes, some hype heightening dairy concerns 
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Dave Natzke
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