California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said she will work with fellow senators to give legal status to undocumented farmworkers and streamline the H-2A visa system for agricultural guestworkers. “It’s time to give farmers the help they need and protect the essential workers who work hard to put food on our tables,” said Feinstein, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“I’ve worked on farmworker legislation for years and can tell you this is long overdue, said Feinstein on Friday, a day after the House passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, 247-174. Thirty House Republicans voted for the bill, the same number who voted for the 2019 version of the legislation. That bill died without action in the Senate.
Chuck Connor, president of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, urged the Senate “to take up, without delay, similar legislation that addresses the labor crisis hitting farmers across the country.” Connor, often in the forefront on farm labor reform, said the NCFC had “concerns” with some provision of the House bill but that it was an excellent starting point for Senate action.
Senate Judiciary chairman Dick Durbin, who also is the No. 2 Democratic leader, said the filibuster, which allows opponents to talk a bill to death in the Senate, was an obstacle to immigration reform. Durbin directed his remarks toward legislation, moving in tandem with the farm labor bill, to create a path to citizenship for so-called Dreamers. “We will have a chance to see if 10 Republican senators can join us in an effort to finally pass it,” said Durbin.