Farm workers hold candlelight vigils for AgJobs bill being blocked by President Bush
Hundreds San Joaquin Valley farm workers and supporters gather for candlelight vigils and rallies Thursday and Friday in Bakersfield and Fresno in support of the AgJobs bill allowing undocumented field laborers to earn permanent legal status.
The bipartisan federal AgJobs bill now before the U.S. Senate–S. 1645 and H.R. 3142, by U.S. Sens. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), and U.S. Reps. Chris Cannon (R-Utah) and Howard Berman (D-Calif.)–would allow undocumented farm workers to earn the legal right to permanently stay in this country by continuing to work in agriculture. Also strongly backed by the agricultural industry, AgJobs has the support of 63 co-sponsors in the Senate, including 26 Republicans. A Senate floor vote on the measure has been blocked in the past by President Bush.
The Senate is now currently in session and this week farm workers will be joined by activists in more than 70 cities throughout the country who are pressing for immigration reform before the November election.
AgJobs has been endorsed by more than 400 hundred organizations representing a broad cross-section of employer associations, religious organizations, immigrant advocates, civil rights groups and unions from across the nation. The editorial boards of the Wall St. Journal, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, Salinas Californian, La Opinion, Miami Herald, New York Times and other newspapers around the U.S. have editorialized for the measure.
Day/date Location
Thurs., Sept. 23, 7 p.m. Bakersfield: Mercado Latino, Edison Hwy (between Chamberlain Ave. and California Ave), Bakersfield, CA.
Local on-site contact person: Lupe Martinez, 661-979-5738
Fri., Sept. 24, 7 p.m. Fresno: Holms Playground, 212 S. First St., Fresno
(by Huntington Blvd.)
Local on-site contact person: Lucy Boutte, 559-352-0848
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