New Agribusiness Report Correctly Calls for Immigration Reform But Contains Flawed Analysis

The American Coalition for Immigration Reform and the Partnership for a New American Economy, a bipartisan pro-immigration reform group of mayors and business leaders, released a report on Tuesday, “No Longer Home Grown: How Labor Shortages are Increasing America’s Reliance on Imported Fresh Produce and Slowing U.S. Economic Growth.” The report argues that an agricultural labor shortage has led to lost U.S. agricultural revenue and that Congress should pass immigration reform to provide agricultural employers with a new agricultural guestworker program. The report contends that domestic production of fresh fruits and vegetables has not kept up with increased consumer demand for fresh fruits and vegetables, and concludes that a major factor holding back domestic fruit and vegetable production is a farm labor shortage. The report acknowledges the role that growing international trade and free trade agreements have played in the increase in imports of fresh fruits and vegetables. The report states that the H-2A guestworker program is too expensive and unworkable for many growers and that “few U.S. workers are willing to work on fresh produce farms due to the seasonal, temporary, and arduous nature of the work.”

While Farmworker Justice strongly agrees that there is an urgent need for immigration reform in agriculture and that immigration reform will be good for the U.S. economy, we disagree with some of the points in the report. The need for corrections and clarifications in the report does not conflict with the conclusion that Congress should move forward to enact immigration reform, including the agricultural stakeholder agreement in the Senate-passed immigration bill, S. 744, and its counterpart in the House, H.R. 15. The House should end its delay in addressing the broken immigration system.

There is, without question, a shortage of farmworkers in the U.S. who are authorized under our immigration laws to work in this country. But there are hundreds of thousands of experienced, hard-working undocumented farmworkers who farmers depend on to labor in their fields cultivating and harvesting our fruits and vegetables. Their hard work can be recognized through immigration reform that affords them the opportunity to legalize their status, begin a path to citizenship, and continue their work and contributions to their communities without fear of deportation. Immigration reform would address employer concerns of worker shortages by helping ensure that there are adequate numbers of qualified farmworkers.

There are additional factors at play. Wages and working conditions in agriculture are often quite poor, contributing to the high turnover in the agricultural labor force. Many farmworkers are paid at the state or federal minimum wage, fringe benefits are rare, and violations of employment laws are rampant. The trend of many growers to use farm labor contractors to hire and supervise farmworkers— often in an effort to avoid the labor and immigration law obligations of “employers”—has further destabilized the workforce. Improving job terms and treating farmworkers with a greater measure of respect would help reduce turnover and increase productivity. In agricultural communities in California such as Bakersfield, Delano, and Fresno, unemployment rates are still in the double-digits. Agricultural employers must do more to attract and retain workers.

It is true that the U.S. has increased its imports of fruits and vegetables as a percentage of produce consumption, but much of the reason is the increased demand by consumers for produce at all times of the year and for a great variety of produce. Growers of fruits and vegetables in the U.S. overall have increased their production due to consumers’ increased interest in healthy food. In fact, in recent years, agriculture annually breaks a new record high in the value of agricultural production that is exported to other countries. Still, farmworker advocates would welcome expansion of the fresh fruit and vegetable sector to bring safe, healthy food to consumers in the U.S. and abroad and to provide good jobs here in this country.

The kind of jobs that are created in the U.S. matters. Proposals such as Rep. Goodlatte’s “Agricultural Guestworker Act,” which would create a massive new agricultural guestworker program that would drive down wages and displace the current farm labor force, both documented and undocumented, are not valid solutions.

The new report criticizes the current H-2A agricultural guestworker program from the employer point of view. We note that the program offers agricultural employers the opportunity to request an unlimited number of temporary work visas per year. If there were truly a need for large numbers of additional farmworkers in the U.S., the employers could take advantage of the program, and some have done so. In recent years, the H-2A program has seen a large expansion: from about 48,000 worker positions certified in FY 2005 to about 99,000 worker positions certified in FY 2013—an increase of over 100%. And several states saw significantly large increases in program usage over the last year, such as an increase of 109% in North Carolina, 49% in Washington, 46% in California, and 45% in Florida. Some growers have used the program for decades and have successfully grown their businesses. Farmworker advocates generally view the program as inherently exploitative and insufficiently monitored by the government agencies that oversee it. 

Despite these differences in perspectives among employers and farmworker advocates, there is widespread agreement that our immigration system is broken and that modifying the H-2A program should not be the only solution to address the need for agricultural labor. That is why employers, the United Farm Workers, and a bipartisan group of members of Congress engaged in difficult negotiations to reach a bipartisan agricultural stakeholder agreement that would create a new agricultural guestworker program for future labor needs and an earned legalization program for the current undocumented and guestworker labor force. Farmworker Justice supports that compromise as a responsible effort to resolve intense conflicts over farm labor policy. 

Unfortunately, while the report does recommend immigration reform and specifically mentions the stakeholder agreement’s new guestworker program, it does not reference the path to legalization for current undocumented farmworkers. The agricultural stakeholder agreement provides a practical solution that includes hard concessions and balances many interests. The stakeholder agreement’s path to permanent legal status and the opportunity to earn citizenship would help stabilize the current farm labor force, benefitting employers, farmworkers, and consumers. For farmworkers, this would mean a greater ability to challenge unfair or illegal employment practices and to move freely in the agricultural labor market and their communities without fear of immigration enforcement. We all want a prosperous agricultural sector in this country and reasonable policy decisions on immigration policy can help us achieve that goal.  

The American Coalition for Immigration Reform and the Partnership for a New American Economy, a bipartisan pro-immigration reform group of mayors and business leaders, released a report on Tuesday, “No Longer Home Grown: How Labor Shortages are Increasing America’s Reliance on Imported Fresh Produce and Slowing U.S. Economic Growth.” The report argues that an agricultural labor shortage has led to lost U.S. agricultural revenue and that Congress should pass immigration reform to provide agricultural employers with a new agricultural guestworker program. The report contends that domestic production of fresh fruits and vegetables has not kept up with increased consumer demand for fresh fruits and vegetables, and concludes that a major factor holding back domestic fruit and vegetable production is a farm labor shortage. The report acknowledges the role that growing international trade and free trade agreements have played in the increase in imports of fresh fruits and vegetables. The report states that the H-2A guestworker program is too expensive and unworkable for many growers and that “few U.S. workers are willing to work on fresh produce farms due to the seasonal, temporary, and arduous nature of the work.”

While Farmworker Justice strongly agrees that there is an urgent need for immigration reform in agriculture and that immigration reform will be good for the U.S. economy, we disagree with some of the points in the report. The need for corrections and clarifications in the report does not conflict with the conclusion that Congress should move forward to enact immigration reform, including the agricultural stakeholder agreement in the Senate-passed immigration bill, S. 744, and its counterpart in the House, H.R. 15. The House should end its delay in addressing the broken immigration system.

There is, without question, a shortage of farmworkers in the U.S. who are authorized under our immigration laws to work in this country. But there are hundreds of thousands of experienced, hard-working undocumented farmworkers who farmers depend on to labor in their fields cultivating and harvesting our fruits and vegetables. Their hard work can be recognized through immigration reform that affords them the opportunity to legalize their status, begin a path to citizenship, and continue their work and contributions to their communities without fear of deportation. Immigration reform would address employer concerns of worker shortages by helping ensure that there are adequate numbers of qualified farmworkers.

There are additional factors at play. Wages and working conditions in agriculture are often quite poor, contributing to the high turnover in the agricultural labor force. Many farmworkers are paid at the state or federal minimum wage, fringe benefits are rare, and violations of employment laws are rampant. The trend of many growers to use farm labor contractors to hire and supervise farmworkers— often in an effort to avoid the labor and immigration law obligations of “employers”—has further destabilized the workforce. Improving job terms and treating farmworkers with a greater measure of respect would help reduce turnover and increase productivity. In agricultural communities in California such as Bakersfield, Delano, and Fresno, unemployment rates are still in the double-digits. Agricultural employers must do more to attract and retain workers.

It is true that the U.S. has increased its imports of fruits and vegetables as a percentage of produce consumption, but much of the reason is the increased demand by consumers for produce at all times of the year and for a great variety of produce. Growers of fruits and vegetables in the U.S. overall have increased their production due to consumers’ increased interest in healthy food. In fact, in recent years, agriculture annually breaks a new record high in the value of agricultural production that is exported to other countries. Still, farmworker advocates would welcome expansion of the fresh fruit and vegetable sector to bring safe, healthy food to consumers in the U.S. and abroad and to provide good jobs here in this country.

The kind of jobs that are created in the U.S. matters. Proposals such as Rep. Goodlatte’s “Agricultural Guestworker Act,” which would create a massive new agricultural guestworker program that would drive down wages and displace the current farm labor force, both documented and undocumented, are not valid solutions.

The new report criticizes the current H-2A agricultural guestworker program from the employer point of view. We note that the program offers agricultural employers the opportunity to request an unlimited number of temporary work visas per year. If there were truly a need for large numbers of additional farmworkers in the U.S., the employers could take advantage of the program, and some have done so. In recent years, the H-2A program has seen a large expansion: from about 48,000 worker positions certified in FY 2005 to about 99,000 worker positions certified in FY 2013—an increase of over 100%. And several states saw significantly large increases in program usage over the last year, such as an increase of 109% in North Carolina, 49% in Washington, 46% in California, and 45% in Florida. Some growers have used the program for decades and have successfully grown their businesses. Farmworker advocates generally view the program as inherently exploitative and insufficiently monitored by the government agencies that oversee it. 

Despite these differences in perspectives among employers and farmworker advocates, there is widespread agreement that our immigration system is broken and that modifying the H-2A program should not be the only solution to address the need for agricultural labor. That is why employers, the United Farm Workers, and a bipartisan group of members of Congress engaged in difficult negotiations to reach a bipartisan agricultural stakeholder agreement that would create a new agricultural guestworker program for future labor needs and an earned legalization program for the current undocumented and guestworker labor force. Farmworker Justice supports that compromise as a responsible effort to resolve intense conflicts over farm labor policy. 

Unfortunately, while the report does recommend immigration reform and specifically mentions the stakeholder agreement’s new guestworker program, it does not reference the path to legalization for current undocumented farmworkers. The agricultural stakeholder agreement provides a practical solution that includes hard concessions and balances many interests. The stakeholder agreement’s path to permanent legal status and the opportunity to earn citizenship would help stabilize the current farm labor force, benefitting employers, farmworkers, and consumers. For farmworkers, this would mean a greater ability to challenge unfair or illegal employment practices and to move freely in the agricultural labor market and their communities without fear of immigration enforcement. We all want a prosperous agricultural sector in this country and reasonable policy decisions on immigration policy can help us achieve that goal.