white house's proposal for new guestworker legislation

[Guest guest]

I thought our listservs would be interested in this position paper from The Farmworker Justice Fund about the new white house "immigration reform" proposal. I'm including the comments I made to fellow staff at my clinic when sending it earlier today to them.

Tina Castañares

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The breaking news about a White House immigration reform proposal has big ramifications for farmworkers, if passed by Congress. Unfortunately this proposal like its predecessors is largely a guestworker program, designed for corporate interests, which has serious drawbacks for those workers whom it purports to serve. (They have been backed by large agriculture, restaurant, and hospitality industry (hotels, etc) lobbies, and are generally opposed by consumer, labor, immigrants' rights and faith-based organizations, with a few exceptions.)

Given that the press may turn to clinics like ours for quotes and reactions, I thought I should share at least one resource for perspective. The Farmworker Justice Fund has been a very trusted source to me for many years, esp. on guestworker legislation. If you find this of interest and feel it is worth sharing with others on our staff, please feel free to forward it. -- Tina

FJF Position: Reject Pres's Proposal and Pass AgJOBSFarmworker Justice Fund's Message: The President's Temporary Foreign WorkerProposal Is Ill-Conceived -- The AgJOBS Compromise on FarmworkerImmigration Should be SupportedThe President's proposal in his immigration policy speech on Wednesday wasvague but is specific enough for us to know that he is essentially proposinga new era of indentured servants. This nation has experimented withindentured servitude and "guestworker" programs; they failed miserably andcaused great misery. His proposal should be rejected as inconsistent withour nation's democratic traditions and our history as a nation ofimmigrants.Under the President's proposal, Congress would create a new temporaryforeign worker program. A person from another country, whether living hereor abroad, could gain a temporary, nonimmigrant work visa if he or she findsan employer willing to participate in the guestworker program. If theemployment ended, that person would not have a right to stay in the UnitedStates unless another employer was willing to participate in the guestworkerprogram. After three years, but a renewal of the visa may be possibleIf the employer agrees.The temporary work visa will essentially be controlled by the employer. Theworker's ability to remain in the U.S. will depend on keeping that employersatisfied. Consequently, the worker will know that he or she risksdeportation by challenging unfair or illegal conduct. Employers will gaindocile workers who often will work for lower wages and fewer benefits. Withpotentially several million guestworkers, the U.S. citizens and full-fledgedimmigrants will experience reduced bargaining power with their employers.Union organizing and bargaining will be impeded.The President's proposal lacks the labor protections against exploitationthat the notorious "Bracero" program had and that are present in the abusiveH-2A and H-2B temporary foreign worker programs. There will be noprotections against depression in wage rates through the use of exploitableguestworkers. The minimum wage is not enough. If a poultry processingplant is paying citizens and immigrants $12 per hour but has access toguestworkers, it might choose to offer $10 per hour. This bill does notprotect wage levels or other working conditions from depression. This andother protections existed even under the old Bracero program despite itsreputation for abuses. The President's proposal is a shocking departurefrom longstanding policy.Generally, such programs are called "guest worker" programs because theparticipating employees have no right to become immigrants or citizens ofthe United States. In this case, the visas would be temporary but many ofthe jobs they would hold are permanent. Some of the undocumented workerswho would want a legal status have been employed in the U.S. for a decade ormore in year-round jobs. The disconnect is not explained. On the otherhand, there is significant unemployment in some geographic areas andindustries; the proposal seems to lack a meaningful labor market test as aprerequisite for bringing in new guestworkers from abroad.These workers will not be able to earn their way to a "green card" withimmigration status even after years of employment. Guestworkers wouldapparently only be permitted to apply for the multi-year, perhapsmulti-decade, waiting list to become an immigrant. In this sense, suchworkers will not even be granted the right to earn their freedom thatindentured servants had.The fact that the President's proposal would grant a "legal status" toundocumented workers does not by itself mean anything: slavery was a "legalstatus" too. The President's proposal raises a fundamental question aboutthe nature of citizenship and immigration status in this country and answersit in the wrong way.This is a nation of immigrants, not a nation of guestworkers. It is also anation of basic freedoms; guestworkers, however, are subjected to a statusthat deprives them of meaningful economic bargaining power and, asnonvoters, of political representation or influence. Undocumented workerswho are contributing to this society and other foreign workers who areneeded should be converted to legal immigrant status, not into indenturedservants under a guestworker program.The President's proposal should be rejected. As to farmworkers, the WhiteHouse should support the AgJOBS compromise (S.1645, HR 3142). It wouldprovide undocumented farmworkers with the opportunity to earn immigrationstatus by continuing to work in agriculture and revise the H-2A guestworkerprogram. It's a reasonable compromise based on arduous negotiations afteryears of bitter battles in Congress. No more delay is warranted.Bruce GoldsteinFarmworker Justice Fund, Inc.1010 Vermont Ave., NW, Ste. 915Washington, D.C. 20005202-783-2628 fax: 783-2561www.fwjustice.org