Jun 22, 2009

AgJOBS Back for More

Here we go again.

On May 14, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., re-introduced the AgJOBS bill in the U.S. Senate (a similar bill was re-introduced in the House the same day). According to Feinstein’s press release, AgJOBS, formally known as the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security Act, is a two-part bill that would first “create a five-year pilot program to identify undocumented agricultural workers and legalize the immigration status for those who have been working in the United States for the past two years or more. The second part would reform the H-2A visa system to provide farmers and growers with a legal path to bring guest workers to the United States to harvest their crops.”

Good news, right?

Sure. As far as I can tell, AgJOBS is the best opportunity out there to create a consistent, legal work force for America’s vegetable and fruit growers. As the result of compromises made among grower, worker and other ag groups, the bill has broad (but certainly not universal) support from the people who will be most affected by it. It’s probably our best shot at ag labor reform.

So, it’s good that the bill has been re-introduced. But as someone who has been following its progress (or lack thereof) in Congress for the last few years, I can’t help but feel a bit skeptical about its chances. AgJOBS has failed to make it through Congress – either alone or rolled into other legislation – since it was introduced in 2003. Opponents have tagged the proposal with the toxic “amnesty” label, which has pretty much been the kiss of death for any immigration reform legislation in the last few years.

But things are different now, right? The Democrats are in charge and the hard-line “put up a fence and keep ‘em out” crowd has been shunted to the side.

True enough, but that’s still no guarantee AgJOBS will pass. Immigration reform is a thorny issue, one Congress doesn’t seem to want to deal with in any meaningful way.

And who knows what monkey wrench could be thrown into the works this year?

For example, the ag labor market has been relatively strong lately, thanks – at least in part – to job losses in other sectors. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the number of hired workers on the nation’s farms and ranches in January was up 2 percent from the previous year. That’s not a huge jump, but it looks pretty good compared to the rest of the job market.

Some politicians might look at those numbers and say to themselves, “Ag’s fine. They have plenty of workers. They don’t need immigration reform right now.”

The problem is, the current situation probably won’t last. Once the economy gets back on its feet, a lot of laborers will leave the farm for more consistent, better-paying work in other sectors, such as construction.

But some lawmakers don’t seem too worried about that. They’re looking for any excuse not to act. The status quo is safer.

The problem with the status quo, however, is that it leaves growers and their foreign, illegal workers (the majority of the farm labor force) in a delicate legal limbo, one that can’t last forever … can it?