Farmworker Justice Immigration Update – 12/01/17

Farmworker Justice Immigration Update – 12/01/17

DACA and TPS Recipients Continue to Suffer from Congressional Failure to Act

December will be a key time for activism to ensure that Congress protects the approximately 1 million immigrants who are currently in danger of losing their authorized status as a result of the Administration’s recent decisions on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs. Current government funding is set to expire on December 8, and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have expressed that they will not agree to a new funding bill if it does not include a solution for Dreamers. If a solution is not reached before the deadline, Congress’ inaction could lead to a government shutdown.

DACA – According to the Center for American Progress, approximately 122 individuals a day will lose their DACA status before the program’s official expiration date of March 5, 2018, after which the number of DACA recipients losing status daily will increase even more. Once a legislative solution is reached, it will still take months from the date a bill is signed into law to implement any new legislation and confer new status. Immediate action is needed to ensure that Dreamers are protected. A coalition of immigration and labor groups is organizing a National Day of Action in support of Dreamers on December 6, including a march on the Capitol and an online march, or “iMarch,” with events in all 50 states. This will be followed by various other advocacy and action opportunities throughout the month of December.

TPS – On November 20, Acting DHS Secretary Elaine Duke announced the Administration’s decision to terminate TPS for more than 50,000 Haitians, with a delayed effective date of July 22, 2019 in order to “allow for an orderly transition.” The Haiti announcement followed a statement just two weeks earlier terminating the TPS program for Nicaragua (effective January 5, 2019) and extending the TPS designation for Honduras until July 5, 2018, with no final decision made on whether TPS for Honduras will also be terminated. El Salvador has the largest number of TPS recipients (approximately 200,000) and the Administration must make a decision on this designation by January 8, 2018. The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) has various documents available online to help current TPS holders understand the implications of these recent decisions.

Legal Victory for Farmworkers in California

In a victory for farmworkers’ labor rights, on November 27 California’s Supreme Court upheld the state’s Mandatory Mediation Law. The law permits state mediators to establish binding contracts for agricultural employers when the parties are unable to reach an agreement due to the employer's violation of the law's requirement to bargain in good faith. The ruling resulted from a lawsuit brought by the United Farm Workers (UFW) against Gerawan Farming Inc., which currently owes workers more than $10 million in back wages. Congratulations to the United Farm Workers for this long fought victory!

Op-Ed Highlights Workers’ Concerns over Agricultural Guestworker Act

A recent op-ed noted many of the troubling features of Rep. Goodlatte’s proposed “Agricultural Guestworker Act,” such as its negative impact on wages and working conditions, extended periods of family separation and potential for further vulnerability for both foreign and domestic workers. The op-ed highlights concerns about the bill’s potential impact on dairy workers, who already face challenges such as wage theft and poor housing conditions. Furthermore, the op-ed notes the bill’s failure to address the need to provide a path to citizenship for the current, experienced undocumented workers doing this difficult but essential work. In contrast, the Agricultural Worker Program Act, introduced in the Senate earlier this year, offers workers a path to legal status, and with it, the possibility of family unification and the freedom to choose their own place of work. As expressed by the authors of the op-ed: “This holiday season, as we celebrate with food likely picked by guestworkers around the country, it’s time we pass the Agricultural Worker Program Act to bring farmworkers out of the shadows and into the communities their hard work supports.”

Update on Farmworker Health and Safety

Farmworker Women Combatting Sexual Harassment

A recent New York Times op-ed highlights some of the many industries where women suffer from sexual harassment but the perpetrators are not public figures, such as farm work. The article details efforts by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW)’s Fair Food Program to incorporate sexual harassment rules and penalties into its labor agreements. This effort has resulted in multiple supervisors being disciplined and in some cases, fired, for their behavior. The Alianza Nacional de Campesinas also penned an open letter to women in Hollywood, in which they share their own experiences fighting harassment and express their support for the women who have denounced harassment. For farmworkers, as well as women in other industries, labor organizing can be a powerful tool for combating sexual harassment, because, as the NY Times op-ed notes, “sexual harassment is more about power than sex; any industry with extreme power differentials will be afflicted by it.” We echo the author’s call for the women who are newly speaking out in the limelight to rally alongside those who have been fighting sexual harassment in the shadows.