Lawmakers have forgotten the
lessons of the previous amnesties, or they are hoping the American people have.
Yesterday [Weds.], a bipartisan group of House members introduced the Farm Workforce Modernization Act
of 2019. Like the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, the new bill
claims it will only apply to a limited number of illegal-alien agricultural
workers, and it promises tougher employment verifications in the future. These
are the same broken promises politicians made when they passed amnesty back in
1986.
Via Neil Munro at Breitbart:
The Federation for American
Immigration Reform (FAIR) is opposing the bill. “The name of this mass amnesty
bill name should be changed to the Mandatory Farm Labor Act of 2019,” FAIR
said.
NumbersUSA just sent out an update on the bill:
Agriculture amnesty bill to include weak E-Verify provision
A bipartisan group of House Members has introduced a new
agricultural amnesty bill that includes a new twist from past ag amnesties -- a
provision that requires farmers but nobody else to use E-Verify. The E-Verify
provision isn't enough, however, to hide the fact that this will be an amnesty
for millions of illegal ag workers and encourage more illegal immigration.
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act, H.R. 4916, was
introduced on Wednesday. The official text has yet to be released, so we don't
know all the details. But here's what lead sponsor Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.)
says the bill would do:
Establish a program for agricultural workers in the United
States to earn legal status through continued agricultural employment and
contribution to the U.S. agricultural economy.
Reform the H-2A program to provide more flexibility for
employers, while ensuring critical protections for workers. The bill focuses on
modifications to make the program more responsive and user-friendly for
employers and provides access to the program for industries with year-round
labor needs.
Establish mandatory, nationwide E-Verify system for all agricultural
employment with a structured phase-in and guaranteed due process for authorized
workers who are incorrectly rejected by the system.
NumbersUSA's Director of Government Relations, Rosemary
Jenks, issued the following statement:
Congress tried amnesty as a
solution to large numbers of illegal agricultural workers in 1986 with the
Immigration Reform and Control Act. As predicted, it failed because the workers
left agriculture for easier, better-paying jobs as soon as they got their
amnesty, and illegal immigration actually increased thanks to the promise of
future amnesties. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act will have the same
result: amnestied aliens competing with Americans for non-farm jobs; and more
illegal immigration incentivized by amnesty. Moreover, by mandating E-Verify
only for agricultural employers, it will actually encourage more illegal aliens
to compete with American workers and legal immigrants for non-farm jobs, where
E-Verify is not required.
Last year, House lawmakers considered advancing legislation
that would require all employers in the U.S. to use E-Verify in exchange for
reforming the H-2A agricultural guest worker program. The legislation did allow
current illegal ag workers to apply for the new guest worker program, but did
not provide an opportunity for permanent amnesty like the Farm Workforce
Modernization Act promises to do.
The most concerning aspect of H.R. 4916 is that 44 U.S.
Representatives from both sides of the aisle have signed on as original
cosponsors.
[NumbersUSA will] continue to monitor the legislation and will post
actions after Congress returns from its current recess and we have been able to
read and analyze all the details.
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