Standing almost shoulder to shoulder, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Rep. Kevin Yoder expressed different views of immigration enforcement during a news conference near Kansas City. Yoder, a Kansas Republican, said Congress should block funding for the White House’s executive order that would allow an estimated 5 million undocumented immigrants to stay in the United States, reported the Kansas City Star. Vilsack said comprehensive immigration reform is needed to assure an agricultural workforce. By some estimates, half or more of farm workers are undocumented.
Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts, also at the news conference, said he hoped a compromise would be reached because, “We can’t be in the business of shutting down agencies,” according to the Star. Congressional Republicans are trying to thwart the executive order through a provision in a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Safety. Without an agreement, the department will run out of money in a couple of weeks. Roberts, Vilsack and Yoder spoke to reporters after a visit to the BNSF Railway’s intermodal freight facility in Edgerton, Kansas.