Comprehensive immigration reform used to be a three-legged stool: (1) enhanced enforcement - border security, interior and workplace enforcement; (2) status adjustment in some fashion for the undocumented; and (3) visa reform.
Under the current administration, it is an unstable stool, if actions recently taken under H-2A are any indication of attitudes. It is increasingly obvious this administration does not like temporary workers. H-2A is the only visa for agriculture. It is cumbersome, bureaucratic and is designed to discourage agricultural employers from seeking foreign workers. There are about 80,000 H-2A workers in this country – only 8% of the total.
The Bush administration had set forth some new rules for H-2A which made moderate (at best) improvements, but the Obama administration revoked these rules (twice) and has taken several steps backwards - making it even more difficult to recruit workers when needed.
One of the pillars of H-2A is that employers must first make an honest effort to recruit native born or naturalized citizens before they recruit under H-2A visas. Previously employers had to attest to their efforts, but now they must provide documented proof.
A national data base is also being created to help growers find U.S. workers. All of agriculture knows this is simply a wasted effort. First of all U.S. labor is not always available in the geographic locations and when needed for agriculture. But more importantly, U.S. labor does not apply for agricultural work - even in these economic times.
We have now returned to the old method of determining wage rates. Why can’t they be market rates? And why do recruitment costs continue to rack up after hiring?
Western Growers President and CEO Tom Nassif put it very well: "We know our produce is going to be harvested by foreign workers, the question is, will it be here in the U.S. or will it be abroad?"
At some point realities need to trump politics. Actually I would settle for a little marriage of the two. One of the major failings of immigration reform in the past is that it did not account for future flows and needs. If we don't fix our visa programs then we will create dislocations and illegal flows all over again.
Temporary workers fill an important role, and flows can be adjusted to account for ebbs and flows in the economy. They are not less expensive to an employer but they are less expensive to society when the work goes away. Temporary means temporary.
Apart from the damage to agricultural employers, the new rules don't set forth sound guidelines for comprehensive reform. From ImmigrationWorks USA: "A workers visa program too cumbersome and bureaucratic to use will do nothing to fix the broken immigration system and nothing to replace the current unlawful influx with a legal flow."
So when this President says he supports "comprehensive" immigration reform - don't believe it. Republicans apparently don't believe in it and Democrats don't really want it and nothing gets solved. |
