Legislation would reform H-2A visa program, create wage certainty for farmers, provide pathway to legal status for undocumented farm workers
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet joined their colleagues in reintroducing the Affordable and Secure Food Act. This legislation would reform America’s temporary agricultural worker program, provide farm workers with certainty and a pathway to legal status after ten years, and provide relief to farmers and ranchers facing a labor workforce crisis.
“The shortage in skilled farm workers means less food for Americans and more sticker shock at the grocery store,” said Hickenlooper. “Providing an earned path to citizenship for farm workers keeps farmers in business, food on our tables, and is a common-sense reform to our broken immigration system.”
“The Affordable and Secure Food Act is our common-sense proposal to address America’s agricultural labor crisis, bring certainty to hundreds of thousands of farm workers living in the shadows, and lower food costs for Coloradans,” said Bennet. “If we don’t get this done, more family farms and ranches will go out of business, more farm workers will continue to live with fear and uncertainty, and more families will continue to feel the squeeze of high food prices.”
The Affordable and Secure Food Act reflects years of close input from farmers and ranchers, agricultural workers, and labor organizations. The legislation reforms the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Worker program by expanding H-2A visas to year-round jobs for the first time, modernizing the application process, creating more wage certainty, and ensuring critical protections for farm workers.
Specifically, the bill would:
- Reform the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Worker program by providing H-2A visas for year-round jobs for the first time, modernizing the application process, creating more wage certainty, and ensuring critical protections for H-2A farm workers;
- Establish a program for agriculture workers, along with their spouses and minor children, to earn legal status. Farm workers in the program may earn a path to a green card after 10 years of agriculture work; and
- Establish a mandatory, nationwide electronic verification system for all agricultural employment, with high standards for privacy and accuracy.
For full text of the legislation, click HERE.
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