A new plan will give annual visas to up to 500,000 foreign national farm
workers, but many U.S. farm owners do not think the bill provides
enough support for their industry. The new bill, written by the
conservative Texas Republican Senator, Lamar Smith, proposes to move the
H-2A visa program from the Labor Department to the Agriculture
Department, streamline the application process for growers and ease many
requirements for growers.
However, many in the U.S. House of Representatives, including Rep. Zoe
Lofgren (D-CA) are not fans of the proposal. Lofgren says that the bill
proposes to slash wages and worker protections in favor of growers, and
creates incentives for U.S.-based growers to get rid of domestic workers
in exchange for cheaper, foreign labor. California growers currently do
not regularly use the H-2A visa program and many in the state have been
supporting a program called AgJobs, which would give legal status to up
to 1.5 million illegal immigrant farm workers, something Smith’s
proposal does not do.
