AGJOBS Bill CALL TO ACTION

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AGJOBS Bill CALL TO ACTION

Update September 22, 2004

Action Needed: Please call and generate additional calls to your two Senators and to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. You may call all of them by dialing the Capitol Switchboard in Washington, D.C. at 202-224-3121 and asking to speak to the office of your Senator, and the Office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

The message is:

Please bring the AgJOBS farmworker immigration bill to a vote as requested by Senator Larry Craig and Senator Kennedy. This is a bipartisan compromise with 63 cosponsors after years of conflict. It is important for farmworkers, for agricultural employers and for the nation. There is no valid reason for any more delay. Bring AgJOBS to a debate and vote and pass it in September or October.

Background

The New American Opportunity Campaign sponsored this week's National Week of Action on Immigration with events in Washington, D.C. and around the country. At Tuesday's (9/21) press conference on Capitol Hill, Cecilia Munoz, Vice President of National Council of La Raza, Rep. (D.-Ga.), and others pressed for AgJOBS and other major immigration reform.

Sen. Larry Craig (R.-Idaho), chief sponsor of AgJOBS had his staff attend the press conference and presen a written statement from Sen. Craig strongly arguing for passage of AgJOBS before Congress ends this year's session. His written statement appears below.

On Tuesday, about 5:30 pm, on the Senate floor, Senator Craig, working with Senator Kennedy, began the procedural process required for an attempt to bring the AgJOBS bill before the full Senate on an expedited basis. He is taking the bold move of using Senate Rules to bypass the anti-immigrant holdouts in the Judiciary Committee. To do this, he introduced AgJOBS in the form of a new bill, S.2823, and obtained the first of three days of " readings " of the bill. Our understanding of the complex procedure is that Sen. Craig must wait until a third " reading " on Thursday before he can press for a vote. He is raising the stakes for those politicians who have been quietly obstructing a vote on AgJOBS, which has 63 Senate cosponsors, including a majority of both Democrats and Republicans.

Senators need to hear from us. Thank you.

Bruce Goldstein, Farmworker Justice Fund, Inc.

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Statement of Senator Larry Craig on the National Week of Action for Immigration Reform Sept. 21, 2004

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- I want to congratulate and commend the National Immigration Forum, along with the National Council of La Raza, National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, and numerous other public interest, religious, worker, and community organizations who are spearheading the New American Opportunity Campaign. In more than 70 events around the country this week, thousands of participants are raising the issues and elevating the dialogue on immigration reform.

I especially appreciate the tremendous support shown for AgJOBS - the bill I've sponsored with more than 60 other Senators - and the DREAM Act, of which I am an original cosponsor.

Our current system of immigration and border control is profoundly broken. Enforcement of the law is always important and never to be taken lightly. However, when a system is broken, the law cannot be enforced fairly and effectively unless it is also fixed.

I grew up in agriculture in Idaho. I began working on agricultural guest worker issues in the Senate eight years ago, because it was obvious to me that our nation was facing a growing crisis - for farm workers, growers, and the wider public. Agriculture, more than any other sector of the economy, has become dependent for its existence on the labor of immigrants who are here without legal documentation. In turn, these workers are among the most vulnerable. Every year, more than 300 human beings die in the desert, in boxcars, in trunks, or otherwise, being smuggled into this country. That cost in human life is intolerable in our compassionate country.

After years of study, discussion, and negotiation with growers, farmworker advocates, immigration issue groups, and others, Members of both parties in both Houses of Congress have come together to sponsor a historic piece of legislation to address this growing crisis.

The name of the bill says it all - " AgJOBS " - which stands for the " Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits, and Security Act. " Our leading sponsors include Senator Ted Kennedy (MA), Congressman Cannon (UT), and Congressman Berman (CA).

We need a stable, predictable, legal work force in American agriculture. Willing American workers deserve a system that puts them first in line for available jobs with fair market wages. All workers should receive decent treatment and protection of fundamental legal rights. Consumers deserve a safe, stable, domestic food supply. Americans deserve sound borders and a secure homeland.

AgJOBS is a win-win-win approach for our nation, workers, and farmers. In AgJOBS, Congress has a bill that is ready to move now, to begin solving problems, and to be a successful model for reform. Along with our other sponsors, I pledge my every, continued effort to move this bill forward and get it enacted into law - sooner, not later.

For more in-depth information on AgJOBS, please visit my AgJOBS Issue Briefing.

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