Sen. Tom Cotton, President Trump and Sen. David Perdue unveiled the immigration plan. (AP photo by Evan Vucci) |
Trump said that the legislation would raise wages for American citizens and reduce federal spending on government benefits for some unskilled immigrants. The president's campaign promises of immigration reform won big points with voters. His endorsement of this bill is important because it signals how he intends to deliver on those promises. However, "The legislation is unlikely to see the Senate floor, let alone become law," Simendinger and Arkin report. "It received mixed reviews from senators in both parties Wednesday, and is unlikely to gain much traction in the coming months."
If passed, the legislation “could have a distant effect on farm labor
because it would halve the flow of legal immigrants,” Agriculture.com reports. "House Judiciary [Committee] Chairman Bob Goodlatte expects to introduce soon a bill to create a new
agricultural guest worker program, to be called H-2C, which also would be open to
farmworkers now in the country illegally. It would allow guest workers to work
at year-round jobs on farms and at food-processing plants for up to three years
at a time. An estimated half to 70 percent of farmworkers are believed to be
undocumented. Growers say the current H-2A visa system for seasonal workers is
cumbersome and sometimes does not deliver enough workers in time for harvest."
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