In the wake of the Senate’s sweeping support of an immigration reform bill, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack spoke out in favor of new immigration policies, praising the Senate for their willingness to support American farmers and ranchers.
Immigration reform has been a major goal of farm lobbyists for more than a decade. With a significant chunk of American farm labor being done by undocumented immigrants, farmers have been eager for major immigration reforms, hoping that changing federal laws will entice more farm laborers into the United States.
These efforts have been stymied by legislation on the state level. A number of Southern and Southwestern states have passed tough new immigration bills in the last several years, frightening away undocumented farm workers and costing farmers tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue.
Earlier this week, the Senate voted for a host of sweeping immigration reforms, several of which will aid the farm sector.
“Today’s strong bipartisan vote in the U.S. Senate to fix America’s broken immigration system is good news for farmers and ranchers,” Vilsack said in a statement earlier this week,” Good news for farm workers, and good news for rural America. The Senate plan would ensure the stable agricultural workforce that U.S. producers need in order to remain competitive with other nations and maintain our abundant, affordable food supply. For millions of farm workers who today live in the shadows, it will provide an appropriate opportunity to earn legal status by contributing to America’s agricultural economy.”
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer