Friday, October 25, 2019

E-Verify proposal would give legal status to farmworkers currently in the country illegally; Senate is a hurdle

A possible bipartisan deal would give legal status to farmworkers now in the U.S. illegally while requiring employers to verify the immigration status of future hires. However, it faces a tough audience in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Tim Henderson reports for Stateline, "Democrats hope the compromise could draw GOP support by forcing employers to use E-Verify, a federal online system, to ensure farmworkers are eligible to work, said David Shahoulian, the Democratic chief counsel on the House Judiciary Committee’s immigration subcommittee, speaking at an immigration policy conference earlier this month in Washington, D.C. Farmers are not required to investigate claims of legal status in most states."

Currently, seasonal farmworkers are admitted with H2-A visas, and employers are required to house them and transport them in and out of the country. More than a third of the nation's farmworkers are immigrants, Henderson reports. A 2018 Republican proposal would have given only temporary visas to farmworkers in exchange for requiring future E-Verify checks, but was voted down.

No comments: