immigration reform
Weaver drops out of rematch against House Ag panelist King
Democrat Kim Weaver, who lost a 2016 race against Republican Rep. Steve King in northwestern quadrant of Iowa, has withdrawn from a second race against the eight-term conservative, said the Sioux City Journal. In a Facebook post, Weaver cited "very alarming acts of intimidation, including death threats," and health issues affecting her mother, who lives in Des Moines.
Undocumented immigration rates to U.S. plummet
The number of undocumented immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border has dropped 40 percent since President Trump took office. “About 840 people a day were caught trying to cross the border or deemed inadmissible after presenting themselves at a port of entry in February, down from about 1,370 a day in January, according to new figures released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” says the LA Times.
Trump-voting farmers worry that he will live up to his immigration promises
Many farmers in California’s Central Valley, where 70 percent of the farmworkers are in the U.S. without documentation, voted for Donald Trump. But as Trump takes a hard line on immigration in his first few weeks in office, some farm owners are worried he won’t make any exemptions for agriculture, says the New York Times.
Stabenow meets Perdue, wants to learn more about his goals for USDA
The senior Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, said she had a productive conversation with President Trump's nominee for agriculture secretary, but did not endorse former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue for the job. So far, Agriculture Committee member Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota is the only Democrat in the Senate to commit to voting for Perdue.
Immigration high on Trump’s list for congressional action
President Donald Trump "has already started to work with Congress" for funding to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, said White House press secretary Sean Spicer. At his first White House news briefing, Spicer listed immigration reform among four items for immediate congressional action while the administration gives first priority to deportation of undocumented immigrants with a criminal record or who pose a security risk.
A freeze on regulations before Trump team settles in at USDA
Within hours of taking office, the Trump administration put a freeze on federal regulations that could include the fair-play rules on livestock marketing issued last month and animal-welfare rules for organic farms issued last week. The new administration will have its first full workday of control at USDA today, with Sam Clovis, a senior adviser during the presidential campaign, as the top Trump official until the Senate confirms Sonny Perdue as agriculture secretary.
Pull out the roots of over-regulation, Farm Bureau chief tells Trump
Rural America was key to electing Donald Trump as president and it wants him to prevent over-regulation from growing back like a weed, said the president of the largest U.S. farm organization on the opening day of the group's annual convention. The American Farm Bureau Federation's Zippy Duvall also told reporters that the Trump team knows producers are frustrated by the lack of a nominee for agriculture secretary.
Forceful Trump to press regulatory relief first, say farm policy hands
The Trump administration will focus on regulatory relief in its early days in office, said two farm-policy hands, who pointed to EPA's Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule as a prime example of federal over-reach. Chuck Conner, of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, said President-elect Trump will be forceful in rolling back regulations, and Dale Moore, of the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the regulatory burden saps farmers' bottom lines.
Congress looks at border security, not immigration reform
Republican leaders in Congress say that immigration reform will take a back seat to improved border security on their legislative agenda for 2017, reports Bloomberg. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters, "I don't think anything changes on immigration until we secure the border."
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.
Campaign for immigration reform aims for action in 2017
The "Reason for Reform" campaign launched by proponents of comprehensive immigration reform is trying to persuade Republican lawmakers to support an overhaul in 2017 with the argument that the U.S. economy would benefit, says Politico. The campaign, backed by a group led by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, underscores that "reform — should it occur next year — will be a fiercely contested legislative fight."
Dairy farmers say Trump immigration plan would leave them short of workers
The proposal by businessman Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican candidate for president, "to deport undocumented immigrants and wall off the southern U.S. border has created an unexpected bastion of resistance: Dairy farmers," says Bloomberg. "Farmers say they can't get enough relatives or local workers, even with pay starting at $11 an hour or more."
Conaway endorses Trump, offers aid on farm policy
House Agriculture chairman Michael Conaway endorsed Donald Trump for president, reports the website yourbasin.com in Conaway's district in Texas. The website quoted Conaway as saying, "As chairman of the House agricultural committee I feel like I have a duty to try and work with Mr. Trump in developing his agricultural policy which so far as not been particularly vetted in any of the debates."
Fewer migrant farmworkers follow the crops, pointing to labor shortages
Since the turn of the century, far fewer farmhands are going on the road. A Ball State University study found that 20 percent of farmworkers performed migratory labor in 2009, dramatically lower than the 53 percent of 1998.
Sanders says immigration reform will be a top priority
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said "passing a legislative solution to our broken immigration system will be a top priority" if he becomes president.
Ryan says no to comprehensive immigration reform
Newly elected House Speaker Paul Ryan ruled out working with President Obama on comprehensive immigration reform, saying Obama cannot be trusted on the issue, said Reuters.
Vilsack, Kansas lawmaker argue over immigration reform
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.
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...
Migrants, trapped in ‘open-air prison’ by U.S. policy pick the mangoes we love
In 2019 President Donald Trump threatened to levy a 5 percent tariff on all Mexican goods unless the country agreed to beef up its immigration enforcement. Mexico acquiesced and deployed troops along its southern border with Guatemala, limiting the free movement of migrants. As a result, countless people have been trapped in Tapachula, a sprawling border town, in what the international press has described as an “open-air prison.”