H-2A Bill Challenge
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with today’s Fruit Grower Report. A bill by Washington Democrat Pramila Jayapal has been introduced into the House of Representatives that could make the H-2A visa program more challenging.
Pam Lewison, Ag Director at the Washington Policy Center, says the Congresswoman’s HR 7541 proposes a limit on the number of H-2A visas granted …
LEWISON … “This poses a challenge to Washington state, but also to the United States as a whole for a lot of reasons. Her logic is that we’re overlooking a domestic workforce that would otherwise do the work on farms.”
The system, Lewison says already addresses that …
LEWISON … “The way the H-2A system is currently structured you have to prove that there is no one locally who will work on your farm before you can even be certified to begin to apply for workers through the H-2A program. So, her logic in filing this piece of legislation is completely flawed.”
Last year, about 315,000 H-2A visas were granted, over a tenth of that in our state alone …
LEWISON … “That’s 35,000 people that Washington state did not have to work on farms in our state alone. We know that because local employers were required to advertise for 60 days locally and say, hey, I have farmwork that I need done. I will pay you X-amount of dollars. I need your expertise to come work on my farm, and nobody showed up.”
So, Lewison says farmers then pay high wages, traveling expenses and a place to live for foreign workers.
