BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Critics say the country's guest farmworker program is exploiting laborers. Today, a panel of speakers in Bellingham will discuss the effects of this program formally known as the H-2A farm labor program. The program allows farms to recruit workers from other countries and gives them temporary visas.

David Bacon is an independent photojournalist who covers labor and migration. He says employers who use the program have a troublesome track record of failing to uphold workers' contracts.

"Growers are required, for instance, to fulfill the terms of the contract to pay a certain wage, to provide housing, to provide transportation," he says. "There is a long record of cheating, essentially - of growers who do not provide what they are supposed to provide."

Last year, a laborer in the country on an H-2A visa died in the field while working near the town of Sumas, bringing attention to the work environment on the farm and laborers' ability to protest harsh conditions.

Workers under this visa are tied closely to their employers and can be sent back to their country if they stop working. Last year, about 15,000 H-2A workers were expected to be employed in the Evergreen State.

Jeff Johnson is the president of the Washington State Labor Council, which has been fighting for farm-worker rights for more than 30 years. While many rights have been extended to domestic farm workers, Johnson says that isn't the case for guest workers, who can still be fired and sent back to their country for protesting conditions.

"They ought to have the ability to speak up for themselves, to be represented by a union should they choose to," Johnson says. "They should have full rights under our Fair Labor Standards Act and, in fact, we don't see that happening."

Bacon says workers often work in poor conditions and at the whim of their employer. He says the program needs a major overhaul in order to give laborers more social and labor rights.

"People need, basically, green cards," Bacon adds. "People need residence visas so that they can make choices about when they want to come, how they want to work, where they want to go, whether they want to go back and see their families in Mexico, and when they want to do that."

Today's forum is the fourth in a series on farm workers' rights organized by Community to Community Development.


get more stories like this via email

Advocates for immigrants are pushing back on a bill signed by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds in the last few days of the legislative session, modeled on a recent, controversial Texas law.

Senate File 2340 gives local law enforcement officers and judges the authority to deport undocumented immigrants.

Erica Johnson, executive director of the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice, argued the bill is an overreach, and said Iowa law enforcement officers are not authorized to enforce it.

"This is a pretty clear intervention into federal territory," Johnson pointed out. "U.S. immigration law is governed by federal law."

Much like the author of the Texas bill, supporters in Iowa blame the Biden administration for failing to slow illegal immigration, so the state has decided to take matters into its own hands.

Johnson contended the bill and other anti-immigrant sentiment during the just-completed legislative session target the very people Iowa, with its dwindling population, will depend on for its future workforce.

"What we need is communities that are safe, where workers have access to dignified, safe workplaces," Johnson emphasized. "The truth of what Iowa's future could be depends on immigrants and immigrant workers in our state, and unfortunately, this law could take us back, away from that possible future. "

Johnson added her organization will pursue legal ways to block the bill from taking effect in July.


get more stories like this via email

The future of Senate Bill 4 is still tangled in court challenges. It's the Texas law that would allow police to arrest people for illegally crossing the border. But groups are speaking out about the impact of "Operation Lone Star" on the youngest migrants. Governor Greg Abbott continues to bus migrant families to other states, many with young children - more than 100,000 families so far.

Robert Sanborn, CEO of Children at Risk, works to improve the quality of life for boys and girls in Texas, and contends the policy has put trauma on top of trauma.

"We never want children to be political pawns. We don't want maximum chaos on the backs of children. We want children to grow up and be assets for our community," he contended.

Sanborn points out that 2.2 million children in Texas are immigrants, and said it would be less stressful for kids if families were not bused in the middle of the night, and if they were allowed to pick their destination.

When immigrants arrive at the border, they are evaluated to determine if they're eligible for asylum.

Beatriz Zavala, clinical coordinator at El Paso-based Humanitarian Outreach for Migrant Emotional Health, or "HOME," said the children in this situation are at higher risk for mental health disorders.

"What is particularly troubling is the profound disregard for the stability and protection these families need. The impact on their mental health is undeniable. These are not just statistics. These are children, real children," she said.

As part of Operation Lone Star, families have been bused to Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. The governor has said the practice is needed to keep the Texas-Mexico border safe.


get more stories like this via email

Legislation in Albany would create the first right to counsel for people in immigration court.

The Access to Representation Act would provide immigrants the right to an attorney in their New York immigration cases, ending the tendency to represent themselves if they cannot afford one.

Estimates show a backlog of more than 330,000 immigration court cases, and fewer than half have attorneys. Studies show without legal counsel, migrants are less likely to remain in the U.S.

Marlene Galaz, director of immigrant rights policy for the New York Immigration Coalition, described what the bill would do.

"It has a six-year ramp-up to start implementing and building infrastructure," Galaz outlined. "Having a pipeline between law schools for law students to go into immigration practice, and getting to nonprofits and so on."

Galaz noted most opposition centers around the $150 million to fund the program but pointed out the total expenditure is less than 1% of the state's $229 billion budget. She added anti-immigrant rhetoric has also damaged support for the bill. Currently, it is in the state Senate Finance Committee.

The New York City Comptroller's office said enacting the bill would benefit the state financially. It could keep about 53,000 people from being deported, which would result in almost $8.5 billion in local, state and federal taxes over the next 30 years.

Galaz emphasized the influx of migrants has saturated the court system, leading to what could have been an avoidable backlog.

"I firmly believe that if these investments had been made when we first asked for them, I believe, like, three years ago, then we wouldn't be struggling," Galaz contended. "We would have had the infrastructure built to address an increase in welcoming our newest neighbors."

A Vera Institute survey showed 93% of New Yorkers across party lines and regions support access to attorneys for all people, including those in immigration court, and government-funded attorneys for them.


get more stories like this via email