Senate begins immigration reform debate
Senate begins immigration reform debate
WASHINGTON -- Advocates are cautiously optimistic that provisions to help secure badly needed agriculture workers for labor-starved U.S. businesses will survive the Senate debate on immigration reform.
The bad news is that advocates are bracing to beat back amendments that could undermine the fragile AgJobs compromise, and will need to fight to ensure agricultural worker provisions survive the back-door deals cut during the conference committee.
"We're cautious but optimistic that we have a real chance for a solid program for agriculture in the Senate," said Craig Regelbrugge, co-chair of the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform.
He said that President Bush's national speech to Americans was well received and helped to elevate the issue.
In his May 15 speech, President Bush said that comprehensive immigration reform should include stepped-up border security, a temporary worker program, ways for employers to verify the legal status of the workers they hire, and a program for dealing with the millions of illegal immigrants who are already here. At press time, President Bush was scheduled to travel to Yuma, AZ, to shine more light on the issue.
Days before, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced that they had reached an agreement to bring the hotly contested immigration reform issue to the Senate floor for a two-week debate.
"We're fairly optimistic the Senate will pass something," said Robert Guenther of the United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association. It is unclear, however, whether the White House and the Democrats will push for the bill to be wrapped up before the mid-term elections or wait until after, he said.
While all parties back a strengthened border security and the doubling of the enforcement budget, the polarized Congress does not agree on whether the bill should allow a path to citizenship for the 12 million illegal immigrants working in the United States. The Senate bill would allow new spending on border security, a comprehensive guest worker program and an earned adjustment program for agriculture workers who live in the United States without proper identification.
The good news is that agriculture is in a better place than other sectors because the industry has been working on this issue for years, said Mr. Regelbrugge, of the American Nursery & Landscape Association.
He said that the initial amendments offered in the first days of the debate showed that the Senate was not in the mood to essentially gut the bill, but a subsequent amendment approved by voice vote reduced the caps on the number of workers participating in the H- 2C program from 325,000 to 200,000 was telling.
When the numbers look big, the lawmakers are likely to "slash the caps in a minute," he said. Mr. Regelbrugge is anticipating an amendment by Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) that would alter the wage rate in the H-2A program. "That's a breach of the AgJobs deal," he said, adding that there is real concern about reopening the AgJobs package on the Senate floor.
The coalition sent a letter to top leaders in the Senate earlier this month asking for lawmakers to pass an employee-verification system that provides ample protection from liability for employers who comply with the new system. Also, lawmakers were asked to include a revamped H-2A guest worker program that can cover year-round positions in agriculture that do not qualify for the seasonal program, and a program for undocumented workers who meet the qualifying criteria to become U.S. citizens.
Mr. Guenther said that he was busy evaluating prospective amendments to see if they would help or hurt agriculture issues. "Our goal is to maintain the deal struck in the Hagel-Martinez- Specter bill," he said.
Once the Senate approves a bill, the real fight will occur when the House's enforcement-only bill is melded with the Senate's compromise legislation during the conference committee. Mr. Guenther said that the agriculture trade groups will begin targeted lobbying efforts to educate members assigned to the conference committee.
Without reform this year, the "most vulnerable sectors will continue to move off shore," warned Mr. Regelbrugge. He said that the agriculture industry is already on a slippery slope due to a broken H-2A program and chronic labor shortages.
"We want crops harvested in this country," said Tim Chelling, spokesman for Western Growers Association, whose leaders have been busy meeting with newspaper editorial boards and talking to the media on the issue. An enforcement-only approach without provisions to help employers secure a legal workforce will be damaging to the industry, he said. Facing employer sanctions, some businesses may decide to move out unless Congress agrees to comprehensive reform, he said.
The bad news is that advocates are bracing to beat back amendments that could undermine the fragile AgJobs compromise, and will need to fight to ensure agricultural worker provisions survive the back-door deals cut during the conference committee.
"We're cautious but optimistic that we have a real chance for a solid program for agriculture in the Senate," said Craig Regelbrugge, co-chair of the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform.
He said that President Bush's national speech to Americans was well received and helped to elevate the issue.
In his May 15 speech, President Bush said that comprehensive immigration reform should include stepped-up border security, a temporary worker program, ways for employers to verify the legal status of the workers they hire, and a program for dealing with the millions of illegal immigrants who are already here. At press time, President Bush was scheduled to travel to Yuma, AZ, to shine more light on the issue.
Days before, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced that they had reached an agreement to bring the hotly contested immigration reform issue to the Senate floor for a two-week debate.
"We're fairly optimistic the Senate will pass something," said Robert Guenther of the United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association. It is unclear, however, whether the White House and the Democrats will push for the bill to be wrapped up before the mid-term elections or wait until after, he said.
While all parties back a strengthened border security and the doubling of the enforcement budget, the polarized Congress does not agree on whether the bill should allow a path to citizenship for the 12 million illegal immigrants working in the United States. The Senate bill would allow new spending on border security, a comprehensive guest worker program and an earned adjustment program for agriculture workers who live in the United States without proper identification.
The good news is that agriculture is in a better place than other sectors because the industry has been working on this issue for years, said Mr. Regelbrugge, of the American Nursery & Landscape Association.
He said that the initial amendments offered in the first days of the debate showed that the Senate was not in the mood to essentially gut the bill, but a subsequent amendment approved by voice vote reduced the caps on the number of workers participating in the H- 2C program from 325,000 to 200,000 was telling.
When the numbers look big, the lawmakers are likely to "slash the caps in a minute," he said. Mr. Regelbrugge is anticipating an amendment by Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) that would alter the wage rate in the H-2A program. "That's a breach of the AgJobs deal," he said, adding that there is real concern about reopening the AgJobs package on the Senate floor.
The coalition sent a letter to top leaders in the Senate earlier this month asking for lawmakers to pass an employee-verification system that provides ample protection from liability for employers who comply with the new system. Also, lawmakers were asked to include a revamped H-2A guest worker program that can cover year-round positions in agriculture that do not qualify for the seasonal program, and a program for undocumented workers who meet the qualifying criteria to become U.S. citizens.
Mr. Guenther said that he was busy evaluating prospective amendments to see if they would help or hurt agriculture issues. "Our goal is to maintain the deal struck in the Hagel-Martinez- Specter bill," he said.
Once the Senate approves a bill, the real fight will occur when the House's enforcement-only bill is melded with the Senate's compromise legislation during the conference committee. Mr. Guenther said that the agriculture trade groups will begin targeted lobbying efforts to educate members assigned to the conference committee.
Without reform this year, the "most vulnerable sectors will continue to move off shore," warned Mr. Regelbrugge. He said that the agriculture industry is already on a slippery slope due to a broken H-2A program and chronic labor shortages.
"We want crops harvested in this country," said Tim Chelling, spokesman for Western Growers Association, whose leaders have been busy meeting with newspaper editorial boards and talking to the media on the issue. An enforcement-only approach without provisions to help employers secure a legal workforce will be damaging to the industry, he said. Facing employer sanctions, some businesses may decide to move out unless Congress agrees to comprehensive reform, he said.
