Looking at Immigration Reform

Looking at Immigration Reform. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.

Now that the farm bill is done, Congress can turn its attention to other pressing matters like immigration. Both the House and the Senate have released their version of what they believe needs to be done to fix the immigration problem but getting the two sides together may once again be the trick. Speaker of the House, John Boehner released his long-awaited immigration overhaul principles last week and Scott Dilley with Washington Farm Bureau thinks it’s a good start.

DILLEY: We think it’s actually a very good development. We’re hopeful that some kind of immigration reform will pass the House and this is a way forward in the House. Previously there was a lot of discussion about things and of course there still will be a lot more discussion in the next few months but at least this is a way of trying to garner support for some kind of package to get through the House and then of course work with the Senate on some kind of final proposal and then send it to the President.

The Boehner principals include standards for immigration reform, border security and interior enforcement, a visa tracking system and reforms for legal immigration among other things.

DILLEY: Immigration reform is something that Farm Bureau has been working for at least the past 10 years, probably 15 years because we understand that farmers need a legal and stable agricultural workforce and immigration reform is a key to that.

There are a lot of plusses and minuses with both versions. It will be interesting to see how this important legislation takes shape over the course of the next few months.

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.