Human rights strategist Greg Asbed gets ‘genius’ grant
The MacArthur Foundation awarded one of its $625,000 "genius grants" to Greg Asbed, one of three co-founders of the Coalition for Immokalee Workers (CIW). It said Asbed "is a human rights strategist developing a new model — worker-driven social responsibility — for improving conditions for low-wage workers within the 21st Century labor market."
House companion is filed to Senate ‘blue card’ for farm workers
Thirty members of the U.S. House of Representatives—all Democrats—introduced a bill to give legal status to undocumented immigrants working in U.S. agriculture and to their families as well.
Trump budget asks for $1.5 billion to begin border wall this year
President Trump proposed $1.5 billion to begin construction this year of a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico — a signature promise of his campaign — ramping up to $2.6 billion in the fiscal year that opens on Oct. 1. The wall would be a concrete part of Trump’s policy of strict enforcement of immigration laws, which could drain the farm labor pool because many farm workers are believed to be undocumented.
While ordering a wall, Trump says U.S. will ‘repatriate illegal aliens swiftly’
Fulfilling a signature promise of his campaign, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and "to repatriate illegal aliens swiftly, consistently and humanely." More than one-half of farm workers are believed to be undocumented; the largest U.S. farm group said lawmakers might be more willing to discuss immigration reform if border security is strengthened.
Immigrant dairy workers are economic spark in rural Kansas
When Kansas dairy farmers expanded their herds and couldn't recruit enough local labor, they began recruiting immigrants from Central America as long-term employees with effects that are altering rural society and economics, according to Kansas State University researchers. Associate sociology professor Alisa Garni says immigrant labor and economic development have gone hand in hand.
Ebola brings hunger to far more people than it kills
The outbreak of Ebola infections in western Africa is disrupting food production so that hundreds of thousands of people will face hunger in coming months, says The Atlantic.
Immigration reform important for Midwest agriculture-Report
One of five farms in the Midwest relies on hired labor, says a report from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. "Midwest agriculture currently employs 57,000 immigrant workers across a variety of sectors, including crop production, dairy and...
Obama order affects 250,000 farm workers, maybe lots more
President Barack Obama's executive order on immigration will affect indirectly at least 250,000 and perhaps as many as 500,000 farm workers, says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Congress may move on immigration early in new session
The incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says lawmakers could set to work on immigration reforms early in the session of Congress that opens on Jan 6. Sen Chuck Grassley says his counterpart in the House, Rep Bob Goodlatte told him "the House will act early." Grassley reiterated his preference for the the House to move first because it stalled immigration legislation in 2013 and this year.
No specific protection for farm workers likely in Obama order
When President Barack Obama unveils an executive order affecting up to 5 million illegal immigrants, it is not expected to include agricultural workers, according to published reports.
Include farm workers in immigration order, Obama is asked
The Congressional Progressive Caucus urged President Barack Obama to "act swiftly and comprehensively" through an executive order that would allow undocumented aliens to stay in the country.
Let House go first on immigration reform, says key senator
The incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says he'll let the House move first on immigration reform in the new session of Congress. "That way, we wouldn't be wasting our time," said Sen Chuck Grassley of Iowa. The Senate passed a comprehensive immigration bill, including a separate path to citizenship for farm workers, after weeks of divisive debate in 2013.
AGree calls for conservation, nutrition and food aid reforms
The AGree project, a multiyear endeavor to reach consensus among food and farm leaders, released a package of four papers that call for substantial remodeling of U.S. conservation, public nutrition and food aid programs as well as comprehensive immigration reform.
“It was difficult, but that’s the life of an immigrant”
Migrant worker Veronica Jarmillo starts work at 7 a.m., picking apples during the two-month harvest season in Missouri, says Harvest Public Media in a story about farm laborers and their vital role in agriculture.
Farm groups urge immigration, guest-worker reforms
Broad-ranging reform is needed for U.S. immigration and guest worker laws, said three farm groups who supported the comprehensive reform bill passed by the Senate in 2013.
White House undecided if farm workers in immigration order
President Barack Obama could announce as soon as next week an overhaul of the immigration system that would protect up to 5 million people from deportation and provide work permits to many of them, said the New York Times, citing administration officials.
Heating up over “hot goods” cases in agriculture
"An attempted crackdown on minimum wage and child labor violations at berry farms in the Pacific Northwest has sparked a backlash that threatens one of the U.S. Labor Department’s most potent tools for enforcing protections for farm workers," writes Bridget Huber at the news site FairWarning.
Hog-farm workers carry drug-resistant bacteria
A small-scale study in North Carolina "suggests that nearly half of workers who care for animals in large industrial hog farming operations may be carrying home livestock-associated bacteria in their noses, and that this potentially harmful bacteria remains with them up to four days after exposure," says Johns Hopkins University.