Farmworker Justice Update – 03/15/19

Farmworker Justice Update: 03/15/19

New Bill Protecting DACA, TPS and DED Recipients Introduced in Congress

On March 12, Congresswomen Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA), Nydia Velázquez (NY), and Yvette Clarke (NY) introduced the “Dream and Promise Act of 2019,” H.R. 6. The bill provides a pathway to citizenship for “Dreamers” – DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients and DACA-eligible individuals. Dreamers would be provided conditional permanent resident status and would need to fulfill an education, employment or military track to adjust to permanent resident status. The bill also allows TPS (Temporary Protected Status) and DED (Deferred Enforced Departure) recipients the ability to adjust their status and gain permanent lawful status. The bill is a “clean” bill, meaning it does not include any funding for immigration enforcement or address any other immigration issues other than these specific categories of immigration protections.

Currently, over a million people are in danger of losing existing protections due to the Administration’s attempts to terminate each of these programs. Liberian DED recipients are currently facing the most imminent risk, as their protection is set to expire at the end of this month (March 31). With regards to DACA, the government is currently accepting renewal applications pursuant to ongoing litigation, but is not accepting any new applications for the program. United We Dream has resources available for those who wish to renew their DACA status. For TPS recipients, their status depends on their specific country of origin. TPS protections for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras and Nepal, all of which had been set to be terminated by the Administration, are being maintained for the time being pursuant to ongoing lawsuits. A few other countries also have a TPS designation, but unlike the ones mentioned above, have not been terminated by the Administration. There are also separate efforts underway to create a new TPS designation for Venezuela.

Senate Rejects Trump’s Border Emergency Declaration

Yesterday (March 14), the U.S. Senate voted 59-41 to overturn President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the southwestern border. The resolution is the same as the measure passed earlier by the House. This is the first time in history that Congress has voted to block a presidential emergency declaration. President Trump has promised to veto the measure.

White House Releases Proposed FY 2020 Budget

Earlier this week, the White House released its proposed FY 2020 budget. The proposal would significantly cut funding to most government agencies while also increasing the country’s defense spending, as well as allocating over $8 billion for a border wall. It would cut funding for major government programs including Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). It also includes a 31% cut in funding to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), 10% cut in funding to the DOL (Department of Labor) and 12% cut to USDA (Department of Agriculture). Some of the funds cut from the USDA include a reduction in funding for rural housing programs, for which farmworkers may be eligible. The proposed budget is unlikely to become law because Congress’ actual FY 2020 appropriations bills will probably differ significantly from the President’s proposal, as they have the past two fiscal years.

Update on Farmworker Health and Safety

Andrew Wheeler Confirmed as EPA Administrator

Last month, the Senate confirmed Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, to be the Administrator of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). Wheeler had been serving as Acting Administrator since the previous Administrator, Scott Pruitt, stepped down last year amidst various corruption scandals. Throughout this career, Wheeler has advocated for a deregulatory agenda.

PRIA Signed into Law, Safeguarding Worker Protections

On March 8, President Trump signed into law the “Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act” (PRIA), S. 483, which passed unanimously in both the House and Senate. The legislation provides much-needed funding for the EPA’s pesticide evaluation and registration process. The final bill contains language safeguarding key provisions of the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) and Certification of Pesticide Applicators (CPA) rules, which had previously been targeted by the EPA for potential roll-backs. Pursuant to the law, the EPA is now prohibited from making revisions to the WPS and CPA until at least October 2021 (other than limited revisions to the WPS’ application exclusion zone). As stated by Virginia Ruiz, FJ’s Director of Occupational and Environmental Health, “we are pleased that PRIA has passed and that it underscores the importance of worker safety as a vital part of pesticide registration. We are especially grateful for the efforts of Senators Udall, Stabenow and Roberts to preserve worker protections from attempts by the EPA to eliminate them.”

Proposed Changes to the WPS’ Application Exclusion Zone (AEZ)

Just five days after the enactment of PRIA, the EPA sent proposed revisions to the Application Exclusion Zone (AEZ) requirements in the WPS to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for regulatory review. The WPS defines the AEZ as the area surrounding the pesticide application equipment that must be free of all persons other than appropriately trained and equipped handlers during pesticide applications. This provision in the rule is intended to provide a measure of protection to workers and bystanders from off-target drift during a pesticide application. If an applicator sees an unprotected person near the application equipment, the applicator must suspend the application until that person leaves the area. Following the OMB review and a subsequent review by the USDA, the proposed changes will be made public and open for a comment period of at least 90 days. Farmworker Justice plans to draft comments to the proposal, along with environmental and worker advocates.

State-Level Proposals to Ban Chlorpyrifos

Various states are currently undertaking efforts to ban the highly toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos. As noted in previous FJ updates, the EPA was set to ban this pesticide at the federal level, but reversed course in early 2017. FJ is currently involved in litigation regarding this decision. As the litigation continues, there are various efforts underway to ban the use of chlorpyrifos at the state level. The Maryland legislature is currently considering a bill to ban chlorpyrifos, and has already held various hearings on the issue. The state of Connecticut is also considering a bill banning chlorpyrifos, with a hearing set to take place on Monday, March 18. The Oregon state legislature is similarly considering a bill banning chlorpyrifos, with an upcoming hearing on Wednesday, March 27. Please sign here to support the Oregon bill.

Farmworkers, Climate Change and Heat Stress

A recent Civil Eats article details the increasing risks from climate change faced by farmworkers, including dehydration and heat stroke. The federal government has no regulations in place to protect workers against heat stress. As noted in previous FJ updates, Public Citizen, along with various advocacy organizations including FJ, petitioned OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) last year to request federal heat stress regulations. We have not yet received a response to the petition.