Dear Member of Congress:
The undersigned organizations join together to ask you to co-sponsor the Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2019. This bill provides a one-time opportunity for experienced agricultural workers to apply for legal status if they show consistent employment in U.S. agriculture and meet other criteria. This bill is a bridge until broader reform can be enacted and will provide desperately needed legal status for farmworkers to stabilize the agricultural economy.
The legislation reflects the farmworker legalization program found in the comprehensive immigration reform package of 2013. The legislation does not include changes to the H-2A program.
During a time when President Trump has declared open season on immigrants and the Justice Department has put its power behind the deportation machinery, we need to take bold steps to protect farmworkers. As experienced in agricultural communities across the U.S., the impact of President Trump’s immigration enforcement in agriculture is dire. Farmworkers make easy enforcement targets, resulting not only in increased fear and vulnerability for farmworkers but also in disruptions to agricultural production.
This bill sends a clear signal that there are leaders in Congress ready to engage constructively on immigration and to move beyond policy by soundbite. The Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2019 would help ensure a stable, legal workforce in agriculture, to the benefit of farmworkers, employers, consumers and the national interest. We encourage you to sponsor this legislation and join this important effort to protect those who put food on our tables and without whom our agricultural system would be laid to waste.
Sincerely,