Immigration overhaul hailed by farm leaders

By Kate Campbell

A proposal announced last week by President Bush for an overhaul of U.S. immigration policy and laws is being seen by many California agricultural leaders as a plan that is long overdue and one that provides a breath of fresh air for both farm employers and farmworkers.

It is estimated that there are 8 million to 10 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States and of those about 1.6 million are farmworkers.

California farmers and ranchers say the president's proposal offers solutions to labor problems that have plagued the industry and the nation for decades. They see it as a way to not only provide better national security, but also as a way to realign the nation's economic interests and its humanitarian values with the realities of daily life in America.

Bush said during his White House address last week that "out of common sense and fairness, our laws should allow willing workers to enter our country and fill jobs that Americans are not filling. As a nation that values immigrants and depends on immigrants, we should have immigration laws that work and make us proud.

"Yet, today we do not. Instead we see many employers turning to the illegal labor market. We see millions of hard-working men and women condemned to fear and insecurity in a massive undocumented economy.

"Decent, hard-working people will now be protected by labor laws with the right to change jobs, earn fair wages and enjoy the same working conditions the law requires for American workers," Bush said.

The president's proposal calls for incentives for temporary workers to return to their home countries and families. It also seeks to protect the rights of legal immigrants while not unfairly rewarding those who are in the United States unlawfully-or hope to do so in the future.

Responding to the president's remarks, California Farm Bureau Federation President Bill Pauli said, "We're encouraged by the president's actions and look forward to evaluating his proposals in detail. The president has moved immigration issues to the front burner and we will work with his administration to achieve meaningful immigration reform."

Pauli noted that Farm Bureau and other agricultural organizations have worked for years to develop a comprehensive solution to the labor crisis facing farmers.

"That effort resulted in historic, bipartisan legislation called the 'AgJobs initiative' that is working its way through Congress," Pauli said. "It's now co-sponsored by half the U.S. Senate and nearly 100 members of the House, evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. We welcome the president's call to action on this critical issue."

Pauli noted that agriculture has taken leadership on issues related to undocumented workers, but that the industry often was a "lonely voice in the wilderness." Agriculture has consistently advocated for reformed guest worker programs and a means of dealing with the large undocumented workforce.

The president's proposal goes beyond agriculture into other sectors of the economy, such as construction, manufacturing and processing, hotels and restaurants. It calls for protection of guest workers to ensure they receive the benefits of Social Security contributions and the tax payments they make.

"I am gratified that the immigration reform proposal the president has announced is moving in the direction I outlined during my campaign," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said. "I have discussed immigration reform with the president and the need to ensure that immigrants are put on a path toward fully participating and contributing to the California economy."

The program Bush proposes would require workers employed under temporary status to pay a one-time fee to register in the program, abide by the rules, and return home after their period of work expires. The work permit would be for three years, with an opportunity for renewal.

The president's proposal emphasizes that American workers would come first, there would be increased workplace enforcement of immigration laws, there would be economic incentives for workers to return home and there would be a fair and meaningful citizenship process that does not put those here illegally ahead of those who are following the law to achieve permanent resident status.

Increases to the nation's yearly allotment of green cards, which allow for permanent U.S. residency, also are contemplated, but the size of the increase has not yet been specified.

"Immigration reform is something Farm Bureau has wanted to see for some time," said Tulare grape and stonefruit grower Kerry Whitson. "I support what the president has proposed and think there are legitimate reasons for him doing so.

"For those of us involved in farming businesses that are labor intensive-grapes, olives, tree fruit, raisins, vegetables-this is a very important issue and it has been for some time," said Whitson, who is a member of the CFBF board of directors and a former chairman of CFBF's Labor Advisory Committee. He has just been appointed to head the American Farm Bureau Federation's Labor Committee.

"The system we have now is broken and everybody recognizes that," he said. "The problem is that each time someone has tried to introduce legislation to fix it, the extremists on both ends of the political spectrum come at it and destroy the opportunity for real change."

Whitson said his own employees welcome the president's proposed changes. He said a lot of workers coming from Mexico to work in agriculture really do want to go home every year to be with their families. Supporting their families is why they have come here to work.

"The proof of that is that last year Mexican nationals working in this country sent an estimated $11 billion back to Mexico," Whitson said. "The problem for these workers is that getting back and forth across the border has become increasingly difficult and dangerous.

"It's a fallacy that everyone who comes here to work wants to live here permanently," Whitson said. "I think that if people had a legal means to come in and work seasonally and go home they would do that. What has happened is that because of raiteros (cross-country drivers who pack vehicles with migrants) and coyotes (smugglers who bring workers across the border) and the expense of going back and forth, a lot of undocumented workers stay because it's too hard to return."

Luawanna Hallstrom, a San Diego County tomato grower and chairwoman of CFBF's Labor Advisory Committee, said, "Farm Bureau members are going to need to pay attention to this issue and work with elected officials to implement President Bush's plan. We need to stay focused."

She said the president is proposing broader reforms than those discussed within the agricultural industry and she expressed concern that other industries haven't yet fully assessed the impact of the president's proposed changes.

"What we're looking for is a bipartisan piece of legislation that can be passed in an election year," said Hallstrom, who is the general manager of Harry Singh & Sons. "I think a lot of details of the new law can be gleaned from the AgJobs initiative, which already has gained broad bipartisan support."

Hallstrom, whose family worked in the fields after immigrating to the United States from India and Mexico, said she has heard the criticism that guest worker programs turn seasonal workers into second class citizens.

"My comment on that is: Hello! Those workers are second class citizens because there has not been any meaningful legislation for decades that protects and helps them. We've lived with our workers our entire lives. My grandmother picked strawberries, that's how she met my grandfather. Together they built an operation that is now the nation's largest producer of pole-ripened tomatoes. It's not like we don't understand the issues."

Chris Bunn, president of Crown Packing Co., Inc., in Salinas, said, "Basically, the president's proposal is very good. It deals with people who are in the country illegally and those who want to come here properly. The issue of not having enough workers for jobs in some industries is a legitimate problem and it needs to be addressed. We need an organized way to do that."

For more information on Farm Bureau's efforts related to labor issues and proposed immigration reform, contact CFBF Labor Affairs Director Roy Gabriel at (916) 446-4647 or via e-mail at rgabriel@cfbf.com.