Coalition determined to include ag workers in immigration bill

 

 

Reform of the H-2A guest worker program must be included in the immigration bill that President-elect Joe Biden is planning to introduce today, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives CEO Chuck Conner, the chair of an agriculture labor coalition, told The Hagstrom Report late Tuesday.

“We have worked for more than a decade now on immigration reform legislation that would provide an opportunity to obtain an earned legal status for the current workforce in agriculture; we look forward to working with the incoming Biden administration on their proposal,” Conner said. “In addition, while focusing on the current workforce is critical, just as important is ensuring that America’s farmers and ranchers can find a stable workforce going forward. Therefore, we believe that any immigration legislation must reform the H-2A guest worker program, including ensuring that all of agriculture has meaningful access to the program.”

How Biden would handle agricultural workers is unknown.

---

---

–The Hagstrom Report