Changes to H-2A Guestworker Visa Program
On Monday, January 12, 2009, farmworker groups and individual farmworkers filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Washington, D.C. to overturn new rules under the H-2A agricultural guestworker program that were issued by the Bush Administration on December 18, 2008.
Along with the complaint, the plaintiffs are requesting the Court to issue a Temporary Restraining Order and/or Preliminary Injunction to prevent the new regulations on the H-2A agricultural guestworker program from taking effect on January 17, 2009. We expect a decision from the court regarding the Temporary Restraining Order and/or Preliminary Injunction by this Friday.
Congress needs to act now to overturn these ill-conceived changes. In the meantime, we have an obligation to do everything we can to stop these regulations from taking place until Congress has a chance to act.
Plaintiffs in the case are the farmworker unions UFW and PCUN and individual US and H-2A farmworkers.
Counsel for the plaintiffs are Farmworker Justice, the law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, Florida Legal Services and the Law Offices of Marcos Camacho.