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Press Statement on Public Charge Lawsuit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Farmworker Justice, Washington, D.C.

August 16, 2019

CONTACT

Bruce Goldstein, Farmworker Justice 202-800-2521 bgoldstein@farmworkerjustice.org

National Immigration Law Center: Hayley Burgess, 202-384-1279, media@nilc.org

Western Center on Law & Poverty: Courtney McKinney, 214-395-2755, cmckinney@wclp.org

Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles: Alison Vu, avu@advancingjustice-la.org

Federal Lawsuit Filed to Overturn Trump “Public Charge” Immigration Regulation

Low-Wage Agricultural Workers and Family Members Will Be Among the Victims

SAN FRANCISCO — Organizations serving immigrant communities and advocates for racial equity, health, children, farmworkers, and working families today filed suit to block implementation of the Trump administration’s “public charge” regulation, which threatens millions of immigrant families — disproportionally families of color.

Farmworker Justice of Washington, D.C. is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, which is entitled La Clínica de la Raza et al. v. Trump et al., filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The lawsuit asks the court to declare the regulation issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unlawful and unconstitutional. DHS finalized the regulation on August 14, 2019.

“Farmworkers and other low-wage immigrant workers will be disproportionately harmed by this rule. Farmworkers perform honorable, difficult work but their wages are among the lowest of any occupation and their poverty rates are substantially higher than the national average,” said Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice. “This cruel policy change will unfairly deny hard-working farmworkers and their family members the opportunity to become immigrants and citizens,” he said. He added, “In addition, the rule’s discrimination against people who use public programs for which they are eligible based on their low-wages will cause them to avoid such programs, harming their families’ health and nutrition.”

In addition to Farmworker Justice, the suit was brought by La Clínica de la Raza, African Communities Together, the California Primary Care Association, the Central American Resource Center, the Council on American Islamic Relations – California, the Korean Resource Center, the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, and Maternal and Child Health Access.

The plaintiffs are represented by the National Immigration Law Center, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, the National Health Law Program and the Western Center on Law and Poverty.

Plaintiffs assert that the regulation violates the Administrative Procedure Act because it is contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious. The complaint also argues that the regulation is invalid because the official who approved its publication, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, was appointed in violation of the Constitution’s Appointments Clause and the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.

In addition, the complaint argues that the regulation was motivated by racial bias against nonwhite immigrants and asks the court to strike it down as a violation of Equal Protection under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The large majority of agricultural workers in the United States are Latino and the large majority are immigrants, mostly from Mexico. As indicators of a motivating racial animus, the complaint cites the administration’s acknowledgement that the policy will have a disparate impact on families of color, President Donald Trump’s own racist statements, and his administration’s other racially-biased policies.

“This rule change is a direct attack on communities of color and their families, and furthers this administration’s desire to make this country work primarily for the wealthy and white. Our immigration system cannot be based on the racial animosities of this administration, or whether or not people are wealthy,” said Antionette Dozier, senior attorney at the Western Center on Law and Poverty.

More than 260,000 public comments were submitted on the draft regulation last fall, the vast majority in opposition. The regulation targets programs that serve whole families — Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Section 8 housing assistance — meaning its impact will extend well beyond immigrants directly affected. As a result, experts warn, the regulation will result in increases in hunger, unmet health and housing needs, and poverty. Because affected immigrants are overwhelmingly immigrants of color, the rule is also expected to widen racial disparities. Independent analysts estimate that the regulation threatens millions of people. A significant portion of those threatened by the regulation were born in the U.S., and nearly a third of those are children.

The complaint asserts that the public charge regulation threatens the missions of the plaintiff organizations and the communities they serve.

“The Trump administration has deliberately designed this policy to target families of color, which is part of its overall blueprint to change the face of what we look like as a nation and who is considered worthy of being an American. It threatens immigrants of color with exclusion and Americans of color with deprivation or family separation. And it aims to deny working-class immigrants of color the ability to thrive in the land of opportunity,” said Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center. “We will not stand for it. We’re fighting back against this racist policy, and we’re going to win the fight to protect immigrant families.”

Today’s filing is available at https://www.nilc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Clinica-de-la-Raza-v-Trump-complaint-2019-08-16.pdf.

Farmworker Justice Statement on Public Charge Final Rule

August 12, 2019 Contact: Bruce Goldstein

For immediate release bgoldstein@farmworkerjustice.org

Farmworker Justice Condemns DHS Final “Public Charge” Rule

On Eligibility for Immigration Status

Today, the Administration released its new regulation on the issue of “public charge” for people applying for immigration status. The final rule will be published formally in the Federal Register later this week.

The new rule penalizes low-income, limited-English-proficient individuals, denying them access to immigration status.

Farmworkers, essential contributors to our economies, will find it very difficult under the final public charge rule to gain admission as immigrants to the United States and become lawful permanent residents.

Farmworkers’ low wages and lack of employer-provided benefits, such as health insurance, will be counted as negative factors in considering whether to grant them immigration status based on their supposed potential to be a “public charge.”

The agricultural industry’s low pay and lack of fringe benefits will therefore be used against farmworkers seeking immigration status, even if they have no intention of using public benefits.

“The new immigration regulation on public charge is contrary to the values of our country as a nation of immigrants who built this country,” said Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice. He added, "We rely on farmworkers to provide us with food and keep us healthy. We should enable farmworkers and their families to be full-fledged members of our communities, our economy and our democracy.”

One of the consequences of this harsh rule, today and in the future, will be to keep undocumented farmworkers – the majority of the farm labor force – on the margins, vulnerable to abuse. Our immigration system must value the contributions of low-wage workers, including farmworkers. Goldstein added, “We will continue to fight for a fair immigration system and reversal of this anti-immigrant, anti-worker policy.”

Farmworker Justice, a national advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., has played a leading role in immigration and labor policy regarding agricultural workers since its founding in 1981.

Farmworker Justice Statement on Mississippi Raids

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 7, 2019

Contact: Bruce Goldstein, Farmworker Justice 202-293-5420 ext. 304 bgoldstein@farmworkerjustice.org

STATEMENT OF FARMWORKER JUSTICE ON THE IMMIGRATION RAIDS AT MISSISSIPPI FOOD PROCESSING COMPANIES

Farmworker Justice condemned the heartless immigration raids at food processing plants in Mississippi, where federal agents reportedly arrested 680 individuals, separating many of them from their children who were at school.

"It is no secret that this country has taken advantage of the willingness of foreign citizens to come to this country to work, many of them on farms and in food processing companies, while a broken immigration system allowed their employment but denied them a lawful immigration status. If the Trump Administration were to arrest and deport any significant number of undocumented immigrants in the agriculture sector, it would collapse," said Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice, a national advocacy organization in Washington, D.C.

The responsible, humane, economically sensible solution is immigration reform that grants undocumented immigrants an opportunity for immigration status and a path to citizenship.

Americans depend on farmworkers for abundant, safe, healthy, and affordable food. Yet, the status quo for agricultural workers and their employers is untenable. “With a large portion of agricultural workers in the U.S. lacking immigration status, and families living under the threat of arrest and deportation, Congress must reform our broken immigration system. The opportunity for legal immigration status is crucial to enabling agricultural workers to live and work productively without fear and to seek improvements to their working and living conditions," he added.

The Administration's heartless breaking up of families in the name of immigration enforcement should end.

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For more information, contact Bruce Goldstein, at 202-293-5420 ext. 304 or bgoldstein@farmworkerjustice.org

www.farmworkerjustice.org www.facebook.com/farmworkerjustice Twitter: @farmwrkrjustice

Trump Department of Labor Proposes Harmful Changes to H-2A Agricultural Guestworker Program

For Release July 26, 2019 Contact: Adrienne DerVartanian

202-800-2522 adervartanian@farmworkerjustice.org

Trump Department of Labor Proposes Harmful Changes to H-2A Agricultural Guestworker Program

On July 26, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor planned to publish proposed revisions in the H-2A agricultural guestworker program. The proposed changes appearing in the pre-publication release would make it even easier for agribusiness to hire hundreds of thousands of guestworkers, who are denied the rights and freedoms of immigrants and citizens. The public may comment on the proposed revisions for a 60 day period. The Labor Department will then review the comments and issue a final revision of the H-2A regulations.

The Trump Administration seeks to guarantee agribusiness unlimited access to a captive workforce that is deprived of economic bargaining power and the right to vote. The Administration would transform the farm labor force of roughly 2.4 million people into a workforce of 21st-century indentured servants. At the same time as this proposal, the Trump Administration is demonizing hard-working immigrants and ratcheting up cruel and counterproductive deportations, targeting many of our nation’s hard-working farmworkers.

The proposal likely will exacerbate existing problems in the H-2A program by, among other things, expanding the scope of the program, weakening recruitment protections, shifting more costs onto workers and reducing housing inspections. While the proposal contains a few modest improvements to the H-2A program, it fails to address many of the program’s failures and abuses, including rampant recruitment fees and exploitation, discrimination against U.S. workers in hiring, wage theft, unhealthy housing, unsafe working conditions and inadequate wage protections.

The pre-publication version of the proposed rule and the accompanying explanation are 489 pages long. We are reviewing the proposal and will be preparing a substantial analysis and formal comments.

The proposal would sharply reduce the obligation to recruit U.S. workers. Many H-2A employers prefer guestworkers over U.S. workers because H-2A workers are dependent on their employers for their ability to enter and work in the United States, and the fact that they are unable to seek out better wages or working conditions. Strong recruitment requirements are needed due to a long history of discrimination.

The proposal would shift H-2A program costs from employers onto the backs of H-2A workers, who are predominantly from poor countries. DOL proposes to reduce the employer’s reimbursement of the H-2A workers’ transportation costs. Rather than reimburse costs starting from the workers’ home communities where they are recruited, the employer could pay the travel costs starting from the U.S. consulate, which is often far from the workers’ homes. DOL calculates that during the next ten years, under this proposal, workers would lose, and employers would gain, $789.6 million, for an average of almost $80 million per year.

The rule proposes significant, complex changes to the wage rates required under the H-2A program for both U.S. and foreign workers. Under the H-2A program, wages must be at least the higher of: the local "prevailing wage for a particular job category;" the state or federal minimum wage; the agreed-upon collective bargaining rate; or the "adverse effect wage rate” (AEWR). The proposal includes changing the methodology for AEWRs, which are intended to ensure that the hiring of guestworkers does not undermine the wage standards for U.S. farmworkers by allowing employers to hire workers from high-poverty countries. DOL admits that its proposed formula would have resulted in lower wages in several major agricultural production states if it had been in force.

The rulemaking also includes changing the methodology for determining the prevailing wage in a way that would make it difficult to ensure a prevailing wage is even determined, resulting in large wage cuts for some farmworkers.

He added: “The Administration's immigration enforcement and threats against undocumented immigrants are harming farmworker families and undermining the agricultural sector, where a majority of workers are undocumented. The Trump Administration is doing nothing to deal responsibly with the most basic challenge: the majority of the current farm labor force is undocumented. Congress should grant undocumented farmworkers and their family members the opportunity for immigration status and a path to citizenship.”

The H-2A temporary foreign agricultural worker program, which originated during World War II, is intended to allow agricultural employers to hire foreign citizens on temporary work visas for temporary or seasonal agricultural work if they can demonstrate a shortage of labor and that the wages and working conditions will not “adversely affect” the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers. The H-2A program has been growing rapidly recently, from 139,832 jobs in 2015 to over 242,000 in 2018, undermining the argument that the program is too burdensome for employers.

Farmworker Justice is a national advocacy organization for farmworkers and has extensive experience regarding immigration policy, labor rights and the H-2A agricultural guestworker program. Our report, “No Way to Treat a Guest: Why the H-2A Agricultural Visa Program Fail U.S. and Foreign Workers” is available on our website.

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Trump Department of Labor Proposes Harmful Changes to H-2A Agricultural Guestworker Program

For Immediate Release

July 16, 2019

Contact: Bruce Goldstein, Farmworker Justice

202.293.5420 ext. 304 bgoldstein@farmworkerjustice.org

Trump Department of Labor Proposes Harmful Changes to H-2A Agricultural Guestworker Program

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor announced plans to engage in a sweeping revision of the H-2A agricultural guestworker program. The proposed changes to the H-2A program regulations would reduce labor protections for U.S. workers and H-2A temporary foreign workers in a variety of ways.

The proposed rule and the accompanying explanation are 489 pages long. We are reviewing the proposal and will be preparing a substantial analysis and formal comments.

The proposal would sharply reduce the obligation to recruit U.S. workers. The rule proposes eliminating the “50% rule,” a key protection for U.S. workers that requires employers to hire qualified U.S. workers through at least the mid-way point of the contract; and replacing it with a requirement to hire U.S. workers only for the first 30 days of a contract, or until the end of the staggered entry of H-2A workers (staggered entry also being a new provision that could make it more difficult for U.S. workers to learn of job opportunities at H-2A employers). Some U.S. workers would lose job opportunities.

The proposal would shift H-2A program costs from employers onto the backs of H-2A workers, who are predominantly from poor countries. DOL proposes to end requiring transportation cost reimbursement from the worker’s home in the country of origin to the place of employment, and only require that employers pay for transportation from the US consulate or embassy where the workers obtain their visa, which is often far from their homes. A 2008 Bush rule made a similar change and the costs shifted to workers at the time was about $4.7 million; a cost that would be much higher today.

The rule proposes significant, complex changes to the wage rates required under the H-2A program for both U.S. and foreign workers. The proposal includes changing the methodology for the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR), resulting in lower wages for many H-2A workers. For example, the DOL notice apparently is indicating that under the proposed formula in California where the current AEWR is $13.92 per hour, the field workers’ would have been a dollar an hour lower at $12.92. In Texas, the rate would be $11.53 for field workers, rather than the current $12.23. Wage decreases would occur in other states, including Florida and New York. For low-wage farmworkers these are harmful pay cuts that undermine the labor market.

It also includes changing the methodology for the prevailing wage for particular jobs in local areas in a way that makes it difficult to ensure a prevailing wage is even available.

“The Trump Administration’s proposal would make it easier for farmers to bring in temporary foreign workers under substandard wages and working conditions, denying these valuable workers the economic and democratic freedoms on which this country is based,” said Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice. “The Administration's immigration enforcement and threats against undocumented immigrants are harming farmworker families and undermining the agricultural sector, where a majority of farmworkers are undocumented,” he added. “The Trump Administration is doing nothing to deal responsibly with the most basic challenge: the majority of the current farm labor force is undocumented. Congress should grant undocumented farmworkers and their family members the opportunity for immigration status and a path to citizenship.”

Farmworker Justice is a national advocacy organization for farmworkers and has extensive experience regarding the H-2A program. Our report, “No Way to Treat a Guest: Why the H-2A Agricultural Visa Program Fail U.S. and Foreign Workers” is available on our website.

Farmworker Justice Statement on Passage of Dream and Promise Act

For Immediate Release

Contact: Bruce Goldstein, Farmworker Justice, 202-800-2521

June 5, 2019

Farmworker Justice Applauds House Passage of the “Dream and Promise Act of 2019”

(Washington, DC) Farmworker Justice commends the House of Representatives for its passage of the crucial piece of legislation, the “Dream and Promise Act of 2019,” H.R. 6, on June 4. The bill provides common sense and urgently needed immigration protections and a pathway to citizenship for individuals with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED).

Farmworker Justice President Bruce Goldstein stated: “We applaud the House of Representative’s passage of the “Dream and Promise Act of 2019.” Passage of the Dream and Promise Act bill is an important step toward achieving a greater measure of justice for approximately two million immigrants who contribute immensely to our country, economically and otherwise, including some of those who grow the food that we put on our tables. The need for immigration relief is acute for Dreamers, TPS holders, and DED recipients, particularly given the current Administration’s attempts to eliminate these programs. We urge the Senate to take up this bill to ensure commonsense and fair relief.”

Farmworker Justice has endorsed this important legislation as one step toward fixing our broken immigration system. Farmworker Justice will continue its efforts to win a path to citizenship for all aspiring Americans, including undocumented farmworkers and their family members. A majority of farmworkers are undocumented immigrants.

Farmworker Justice is a national advocacy organization for farmworkers with over thirty-five years of experience serving the farmworker community regarding immigration and labor policy.

Farmworker Justice Statement on Dream and Promise Act

For Immediate Release Contact: Bruce Goldstein, Farmworker Justice

May 21, 2019 202-800-2521

Farmworker Justice Statement on Mark-up of “Dream” and “Promise” Legislation

(Washington, DC) Tomorrow (May 22), the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to mark-up two important pieces of legislation: H.R. 2820, the “Dream Act of 2019” and H.R. 2821, the “American Promise Act of 2019.” These two bills are based on the “Dream and Promise Act of 2019,” H.R. 6.

Together, they would provide immigration protections and a pathway to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) recipients.

Farmworker Justice President Bruce Goldstein stated: “It is imperative that Congress pass legislation securing permanent protections for Dreamers, TPS holders, and DED recipients. By eliminating the constant fear of deportation, this legislation would reduce the stress placed on them and their families and empower them in their workplaces, including our nation’s farms and ranches.”

Farmworker Justice is a national advocacy organization for farmworkers with over thirty-five years of experience serving the farmworker community regarding immigration and labor policy.

www.farmworkerjustice.org

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For more information, contact Bruce Goldstein at 202-800-2521 or bgoldstein@farmworkerjustice.org

Press Release on “Securing the Future of American Agriculture”

For Immediate Release Contact: Adrienne DerVartanian, Farmworker Justice

April 3, 2019 202-800-2522

Farmworker Justice Statement on House Immigration Subcommittee Hearing:

“Securing the Future of American Agriculture”

Congress Should Pass Immigration Reform that Respects the Contributions of Farmworkers

(Washington, D.C.) Regarding today’s hearing of the House Judiciary immigration subcommittee titled “Securing the Future of American Agriculture,” Farmworker Justice President Bruce Goldstein stated: “The status quo for farmworkers and agricultural employers is untenable. Farmworkers and their families are currently living under the threat of arrest, deportation and family separation. This daily reality affects their ability to do their jobs safely and productively. The most important and urgently needed step right now is providing undocumented farmworkers and their family members the opportunity to obtain immigration status and a path to citizenship. This hearing is an opportunity to move towards a positive and workable solution in Congress.”

Earlier this year, Farmworker Justice welcomed the introduction of the Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2019. This bill builds momentum toward comprehensive immigration reform while addressing the unique and urgent needs of agricultural and rural communities. We thank Senator Feinstein, Representative Lofgren and other Members of Congress for their leadership in support of reasonable, workable and fair immigration reform and their attention to farmworkers in this bill.

The bill would establish an earned legalization program under which certain farmworkers who meet agricultural work requirements, national security clearance requirements, and other obligations are given temporary permission to work in agriculture and the opportunity to earn immigration status with a path to citizenship. Their immediate family members in the United States also would have an opportunity to convert their status. President Goldstein added, “the Agricultural Worker Program Act would help ensure a stable, legal workforce in agriculture, which is good for farmworkers, employers, consumers and the national interest.”

Farmworker Justice is a national advocacy organization for farmworkers with over thirty-five years of experience serving the farmworker community regarding immigration and labor policy.

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For more information, contact Adrienne DerVartanian at 202-800-2522 or adervartanian@farmworkerjustice.org.

Farmworker Justice to Recognize Social Justice Leaders at its 2019 Awards in Los Angeles

FARMWORKER JUSTICE TO RECOGNIZE SOCIAL JUSTICE LEADERS AT ITS 2019 LOS ANGELES AWARDS Los Angeles, CA – Farmworker Justice will host its 2019 Los Angeles Awards recognizing the social justice impact of four nationwide and community leaders on Wednesday, April 24, 2019 at Studio-MLA at 6:00 p.m. Farmworker Justice’s events provide an opportunity to bring together supporters … Read more Farmworker Justice to Recognize Social Justice Leaders at its 2019 Awards in Los Angeles

Federal Court Rejects Growers’ Wage Lawsuit

Federal Court Rejects Growers’ Demands for Nationwide Wage Cut For Farmworkers at Employers under H-2A Agricultural Guestworker Program A federal judge in Washington, D.C. has rejected the request by an agricultural employer association for a nationwide injunction to reduce the wage rates of tens of thousands of farmworkers employed by farm operators that use the … Read more Federal Court Rejects Growers’ Wage Lawsuit