United Farm Workers President Arturo S. Rodriguez issued the following statement from the union’s Keene, Calif. headquarters in response to the report, ‘Injustice on Our Plates,’ released today by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
‘Injustice on Our Plates,’ which was released today by the Southern Poverty Law Center, puts a face to the plight of immigrant women in the United States. As it often happens, a lot of new immigrants look for jobs in the fields as farm workers, but due to the lack of immigration papers, they soon become the victims of exploitation and sexual harassment.
The report documents the struggles of immigrant laborers who are the backbone of the country’s agricultural economy. That is why, now more than ever, Congress needs to act to bring a solution to this crisis in the fields by approving AgJOBS.
The United Farm Workers and the agricultural industry negotiated the most bipartisan broadly supported immigration reform measure in the United States. AgJOBS would allow undocumented farm workers earn the right to permanently stay in this country by continuing to work in agriculture.
Without an immigration reform for farm workers, not only those who toil in the fields are affected, but the American consumer as well. AgJOBS could serve as a model for immigration reform, one that respects the laws of our country and the labor of those who feed us.