Tuesday, June 18, at noon in Bakersfield
Farm workers and immigration reform advocates urge GOP whip McCarthy to oppose Rep. Goodlatte’s new Bracero program bill
Bakersfield, CA – Dozens of farm workers and immigration reform advocates will demonstrate in front of U.S. Congressman Kevin McCarthy’s office at 4100 Empire Drive, Suite 150 in Bakersfield at noon, Tuesday, June 18. The effort, led by the United Farm Workers, seeks to persuade McCarthy to oppose the Agricultural Guestworker Act (H.R. 1773), which was filed by Rep. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va) on April 26. The House Judiciary Committee is expected to hold the markup of H.R. 1773 this week.
"Goodlatte’s bill does not include a new immigration process allowing farm workers who feed our nation to legalize their status and earn permanent legal residence over time. In poll after poll, Americans voters, especially Latinos, have overwhelmingly expressed support for a roadmap to citizenship for new American like farm workers, who contribute to our country," said UFW spokeswoman Maria Machuca.
The Goodlatte’s proposal would create a new agricultural temporary worker program that would result in massive job losses for U.S. workers by transforming the farm labor force into a system of temporary workers with no meaningful protections or rights. The bill would also eliminate many long-standing worker protections and slash wages for foreign and domestic workers.
Goodlatte’s bill proposes to replace the existing H-2A agricultural temporary worker program with a new H-2C program. The H-2C would deprive U.S. farm workers of jobs by minimizing the recruitment obligations of employers, slashing wages and withholding 10 percent of a workers’ wages. It would also minimize government oversight, limit workers access to judicial relief and legal assistance, and reduce temporary workers’ minimum-work guarantee. Further it would eliminate the requirement that employers provide housing for temporary workers as well as U.S. workers who travel to the worksite. The bill also seeks to eliminate travel-expense reimbursement for temporary workers.
Instead of Goodlatte’s one-sided bill, the UFW is urging lawmakers to support bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform legislation like the S. 744 in the Senate.
The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S. 744) was introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). The proposal calls for a roadmap to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the country and includes special agricultural provisions, negotiated by the United Farm Workers, major grower associations, and Senators Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Rubio and Bennet.
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