Immigration Policy Reform Should Respect Rights of U.S. Farmworkers

Farmworker Justice President Bruce Goldstein issued the following statement following the introduction of the Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 that would reform U.S. immigration policy:

“We are optimistic about the framework of this agreement and applaud the bipartisan work in the Senate to fix our nation’s broken immigration policies. We are pleased to see the inclusion of a path to lawful permanent residency for farmworkers and their families as well as critically important international labor recruitment protections to prevent abuse of workers by increasing transparency and accountability during the recruitment process. While we are troubled by some aspects of the bill, we recognize that reform requires compromise. We look forward to carefully reviewing the provisions to ensure that they meet our goal of providing farmworkers a path to citizenship and improving farmworker wages and working conditions. We encourage members of Congress to adopt a final bill that ensures fair treatment for current and future farmworkers and their families.

We appreciate the efforts of the United Farm Workers in reaching a hard-fought compromise with agricultural employer organizations and a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators on immigration legislation that reflects a commitment to treat the men and women harvesting our food with dignity and improve agricultural labor practices.”
 

Farmworker Justice Statement on Senate Immigration Reform Bill

Farmworker Justice President Bruce Goldstein issued the following statement following the introduction of the Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 that would reform U.S. immigration policy:

“We are optimistic about the framework of this agreement and applaud the bipartisan work in the Senate to fix our nation’s broken immigration policies. We are pleased to see the inclusion of a path to lawful permanent residency for farmworkers and their families as well as critically important international labor recruitment protections to prevent abuse of workers by increasing transparency and accountability during the recruitment process. While we are troubled by some aspects of the bill, we recognize that reform requires compromise. We look forward to carefully reviewing the provisions to ensure that they meet our goal of providing farmworkers a path to citizenship and improving farmworker wages and working conditions. We encourage members of Congress to adopt a final bill that ensures fair treatment for current and future farmworkers and their families.

We appreciate the efforts of the United Farm Workers in reaching a hard-fought compromise with agricultural employer organizations and a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators on immigration legislation that reflects a commitment to treat the men and women harvesting our food with dignity and improve agricultural labor practices.”