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In case you hadn’t noticed, a lot has been happening lately in the realms of immigration reform and agricultural labor.
The Obama administration has withdrawn the “no-match” rule that was issued by the Bush administration a couple of years ago (a U.S. Senate amendment is seeking to block the Obama move). The rule, which was never enacted due to a court order, would have forced employers to fire any worker whose Social Security number didn’t match federal records and couldn’t be verified within three months.
On top of that, a federal district court has issued an injunction that will maintain the new H-2A rules, rules that were announced by the Bush administration late last year, suspended earlier this year, but are now back in place. Farm worker unions have filed motions in a separate case seeking to block implementation of the Bush H-2A rules.
On top of that, the Department of Homeland Security has announced that procurement rules requiring certain federal contractors and subcontractors to use E-Verify (which electronically verifies the employment eligibility of newly hired employees) will go into effect Sept. 8, while the U.S. Senate has passed two amendments that would strengthen the E-Verify rule and make it permanent.
So, what’s the solution to all this confusion?
Hmmm … we need something to tie everything together, some sweeping piece of legislation that can cut through all the bureaucratic red tape and give ag employers a stable, consistent and – most importantly – legal workforce.
AgJOBS, anyone?
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