Proposals to reform U.S. immigration policies and address the labor needs of agriculture continue to mount as the congressional calendar gets fuller and shorter.
As September comes to a close, Congress is scheduled to be in session only nine days in October, 17 in November and nine in December, according to Maggie McHugh, immigration consultant with Gray & Oscar LLC, a public affairs and government relations firm. McHugh co-authors the Northeast Dairy Farmers Cooperatives (NDFC) Newsletter, serving Gray & Oscar clients AgriMark, Dairy Farmers of America Northeast Council, St. Albans Cooperative Creamery and Upstate Niagara Cooperative.
The 2018 congressional calendar has yet to be finalized. Complicating the issue is that immigration reform is a hot button political issue, and all House members and two-thirds of the Senate are up for re-election in 2018, McHugh said.
DACA deadlines
In early September, President Donald Trump set a six-month expiration date on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, urging Congress to use that time to come up with a legislative solution.
Implemented under executive order of former President Obama, DACA sought to protect children (also known as “dreamers”) brought into the U.S. by illegal immigrants.
Under the plan announced by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, people already enrolled in DACA remain covered until their permits expire. If that happens before March 5, 2018, they are eligible to renew them for another two years, as long as they apply by Oct. 5, 2017. No new applicants have been accepted under the program, effective Sept. 5.
Attorneys general in about 20 states and the District of Columbia have filed lawsuits seeking to block the Trump Administration’s plan to end DACA. Countering the pro-DACA states were 10 state attorney generals opposed to DACA who threatened to sue President Trump if he did not rescind the program.
Several bills have been introduced to deal with DACA, McHugh said.
The Dream Act of 2017 (S. 1615) was introduced by U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), and the “Recognizing America’s Children Act (H.R. 1468), offered by U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Florida), reform DACA and provide a path to citizenship. Additionally, “The Dreamer Protection Act” (H.R. 1487), introduced by by Rep. Norma Torres (D-California), prohibits any appropriation or expenditure of funds to apprehend, detain or remove any alien granted DACA protection.
‘Agriculture Guestworker Act’ introduction delayed
As of PD Extra's deadline, introduction of the “Agricultural Guestworker Act,” a bill designed to replace the existing H-2A program with a new H-2C program, had been delayed. House Judiciary Committee chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia) was seeking additional stakeholder input prior to introducing the bill, according to Laurie Fischer, chief executive officer of the American Dairy Coalition (ADC).
According to previous reports, the program would allow both current and incoming laborers to obtain work visas up to 36 months in length. The H-2C program would be administered by USDA, rather than the U.S. Department of Labor.
ADC has scheduled a seminar on the program on Oct. 5, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., during World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin.
Idaho Dairymen's Association (IDA) executive director Bob Naerebout, said the proposal would allow dairy producers to retain their current workers, have access to year-round workers and access to legal new workers when they are needed in the future. IDA is part of the Agriculture Workforce Coalition, a group of farm organizations attempting to seek agricultural labor solutions.
Mandatory E-Verify proposed
U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) introduced “The Legal Workforce Act” (H.R. 3711), a bill requiring all U.S. employers to use E-Verify to check the work eligibility of new hires. Operated by USCIS, E-Verify checks the social security numbers of newly hired employees against Social Security Administration (SSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) records to help ensure they are genuinely eligible to work in the U.S.
According to a summary of the bill, the current paper-based I-9 system of verifying employees would be repealed and converted to E-Verify. Mandatory E-Verify would be phased in incrementally, with deadlines for largest employers coming first. Those employers with 1-19 employees would have 24 months following enactment of the law to comply, and “agricultural labor or services” companies would have 30 months.
The bill grants employers safe harbor from prosecution if they use the E-Verify program in good faith, and through no fault of their own, receive an incorrect eligibility confirmation. However, the bill strengthens penalties on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. The bill also creates a penalty for individuals (employees or employers) who knowingly submit false information to the E-Verify system.
IDA has joined with other agriculture groups to propose that Mandatory E-Verify be enacted, but only alongside other effective farmworker visa reform.
‘Green Card’ interview restored
A previously waived interview requirement for applicants seeking work permits (“green cards”) has been resuscitated, according to McHugh.
The interviews, conducted by U.S. consulates abroad or by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), had been designated for high-risk cases. Effective Oct. 1, the interviews will be restored for all applicants and those seeking refugee or asylum status, and include questions related to identification, criminal history, employment authorization and records, marriage status and more.
The Trump Administration has announced a cap of 50,000 refugee admissions for fiscal year 2018, although that number could go lower. The budget for refugee resettlement has also been cut, from $544.7 million to $410 million.
‘The Walls’ environmental impact
The Sierra Club filed a lawsuit in California federal court, Sept. 12, seeking release of environmental impact information related to the construction of border walls along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to Law360. Alleging Freedom of Information Act violations in response to requests submitted to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Sierra Club contends a border wall poses a “significant threat” to the environment and surrounding communities. The requests came as the agencies award contracts to replace deteriorating fences and bid on constructing new barriers. 
-
Dave Natzke
- Editor
- Progressive Dairyman
- Email Dave Natzke
