Leaders of the American Farm Bureau Federation are applying pressure on Congress to reform the nation’s H2-A guest-worker program.
American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duval wrote in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece that the current plan doesn’t meet the needs of the nation’s farming operations. He wrote that American agriculture doesn’t work without guest workers, and that any new immigration plans must be flexible enough to deal with all aspects of agriculture.
Temporary workers needed to harvest fruits and vegetables need different types of work permits than workers who work on dairy farms — which need workers 365 days a year, he said.
During the last session of Congress, former congressman Bob Goodlatte, R-VA, introduced the H2-C guest worker visa program that would have dealt with those differences. That legislation never received enough House of Representatives support to be voted on.
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