Border Crossing Vax Rules Pt 2
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. New travel restrictions requiring COVID vaccinations before entering the U.S. from Mexico has ag employers crying foul.
U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse leads a Congressional group calling on the Department of Homeland Security to give foreign guestworkers an exemption …
NEWHOUSE … “We’re asking them to return to the provisions that they allowed us to work under last year. Make it the grower’s responsibility, when they get the workers here, to be certain they’re vaccinated. That seemed to work very well in the past.”
But, without it ...
NEWHOUSE … “Without that provision, we run the risk of our critical employees not being able to be here at key times in the agricultural growing seasons.”
So far, Newhouse says they have yet to hear from DHS …
NEWHOUSE … “We haven’t heard back yet from the department. Anticipating that response, as you can imagine, if it doesn’t come quickly, we will be calling on them again for an answer.”
For H-2A workers, Newhouse says it’s unnecessary
NEWHOUSE … “You know, in light of labor shortages and in light of our disrupted supply chain, the issues surrounding that, there’s no need for a federal agency to throw another wrench into the works by creating a situation that we don’t have to create.”
Newhouse says the problem can be solved by using the proven
method that we used last year with great success, including a 95% vaccination rate. He hopes they listen.
