RALEIGH, N.C. -- A labor union representing more than 9,000 farmworkers says the coronavirus pandemic has made working conditions worse for migrant laborers on North Carolina tobacco farms.

The Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO, is calling on the multi-billion-dollar corporations that purchase tobacco from these growers to take action.

Justin Flores, the committee's vice president, says thousands of agricultural workers arrive in North Carolina each year to harvest tobacco used by the world's largest cigarette companies.

"They (companies) put a lot pressure to keep prices down, to keep quality high, that really ends up being the reason that farmworkers face such bad working conditions and wages," Flores states. "They've decided to avoid engaging about these issues, and to avoid putting the money in their supply chain to help growers improve housing, improve wages."

Groups, including the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, are asking tobacco purchasers to use their wealth and industry control to help growers implement better labor conditions. To date, Flores says, companies such as Reynolds American and Philip Morris International have refused.

Flores adds that tobacco farms in the state are retaliating against workers for speaking out about abuses, or for joining unions, by choosing not to rehire them. He says some farms have even threatened workers with not being able to come back into the United States if they complain.

"In the case of OJ Smith Farms in Whitakers, N.C., some of the workers at the farm joined our union, highlighted some really serious abuses," Flores relates. "The labor contractor there was stealing wages, was not reimbursing things properly."

In March, the contractor who supplies farm labor to O J Smith Farms was cited and fined for violating federal guest worker visa requirements.

Flores says the blacklisted workers and their families are now struggling, with no source of income during the pandemic.

"It really just shows how these companies operate to see that months into a pandemic, and they're donating a handful of masks," he points out. "They haven't said they're going to put money into improved housing, to put money into bigger housing that's less crowded."

Flores says an online petition calls for tobacco companies to work with unions to stop the blacklisting and exploitation on their contract farms. The union also backs a retailer and consumer boycott of Reynolds' e-cigarette brand, VUSE, until the company addresses these issues.

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.


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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.


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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.


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