WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday proposed a rapid route to citizenship for farm workers as part of an immigration reform bill.
The House farm worker proposal matched the provisions of a Senate immigration bill, passed 68-27 on June 27. It would give legal status to undocumented workers and allow them to apply for citizenship after a decade if they stay in agricultural jobs.
A coalition of growers helped draft the Senate approach.
By comparison, a Republican-backed bill already in the works in the House requires undocumented workers and workers admitted under an agricultural visa to return to their home countries every couple of years.
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That bill, approved by the House Judiciary Committee, also would allow meatpackers to seek workers under the agricultural visa program.
Democrat Suzan DelBene, a sponsor of the new bill, said it would assure a reliable workforce for farmers and fair treatment for workers. DelBene’s district includes a swathe of farm country in northwestern Washington state. A piecemeal approach could upset a complex industry, she said.
House Republican leaders say they will look at immigration reform one element at a time. A spokesman for Speaker John Boehner said last month that immigration should be examined in “a deliberate, step-by-step approach” and not through a massive bill.
A large portion of the U.S. agricultural workforce, some 60 percent by one estimate, is undocumented but is seen as vital for growing fruit, vegetables and other crops and for tending to livestock. The government says there are 1.1 million agricultural workers. Unofficial figures are as high as 1.5 million.
The Senate plan is a workable way to assure there will be enough farm workers, said Craig Regelbrugge of the American Nursery & Landscape Association, speaking on behalf of the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform.
“We … are eager to work with anyone and everyone in the House who wants to solve this existential threat to much of American agriculture,” Regelbrugge said.
