Bills were introduced this week in both the House of Representatives and the Senate which would provide legal status for hundreds of thousands of agriculture workers in the US. Both bills had bipartisan sponsorship. In the House, H.R. 3142 was introduced by Republican Chris Cannon of Utah and California Democrat Howard Berman. S. 1645 was sponsored in the Senate by a number of Republicans and Democrats including Norm Coleman (R-MN), Larry Craig (R-ID), Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY). The bills are known as the "Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits, and Security Act of 2003" or AGJOBS.

The 100+ page bills would apply to those agricultural workers who have already been working at least 100 days in a twelve month period in the 18 month period ending August 31, 2003. They would be able to apply for a temporary visa. If they then work at least 75 days during each of the three twelve month periods between 2003 and 2006 and for at least 360 days in agricultural jobs during the next three year period ending August 31, 2009, including 240 days after getting temporary status then following that, they would earn the right to apply for permanent residency. Advocates of the legislation also see the bill as a model for a much broader future bill that would apply to all illegal workers.

Workers participating in the program will be able to travel in and out of the US legally and will be able to accept additional jobs as long as they meet their obligations to work in agriculture. Family members may remain legally, though they will not be authorized to work until the principal applicant applies for permanent residency. Criminals and those who fail to meet the requirements of the program are subject to removal.

The bills also make modifications in the current H-2A visa program. H-2A workers would only be eligible to work up to ten months, down from the current 364 day a year limit.  The new program would drop the labor certification requirement and replace it with a program that involves filing a labor condition application, much like the current H-1B visa program. The H-2A applications by employers would have to be adjudicated within seven days by the USCIS. Employers would still have to engage in recruiting including listing the job with a local job service for 28 days before bringing workers in to the US. There are also a number of modifications and clarifications of the work conditions applicable to H-2A workers. Regulations enacting H-2A provisions of the law would have to be in place within a year of the law passing.

The bills drew praise from a variety of organizations. The US Chamber of Commerce quickly endorsed the proposal. “This legislation represents an historic agreement between business and labor on an important issue for the future of our country – reform of immigration rules to address our current and future workforce needs,” said Bruce Josten, the US Chamber’s executive vice president for Government Affairs. “The excellent work of members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to achieve this result should be commended. This comprehensive bill recognizes that immigration reform must include both legal ways for employers to hire foreign workers when U.S. workers are not available, and a path to legitimize the status of those immigrants that have been supporting our industries and economy with their labor,” continued Josten. “While the needs of the agricultural community are unique, we hope that this approach can help pave the way for legislation to address the needs of the broader business community for essential workers.”

The bill also is supported by the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "This measure reflects an historic agreement between the representatives of farm workers and the agricultural industry, and the pressing need, for humanitarian, economic, and security reasons, to reform our immigration laws in this sector of our economy," said Jeanne Butterfield, Executive Director, and Judith Golub, Senior Director of Advocacy and Public Affairs of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

"The AgJobs Act reflects difficult compromises made by both sides. As is the case with the best compromises, both sides in this historic deal did not get everything they wanted, but all have agreed to work together to make sure that the AgJobs Act becomes law," said Golub.  "As we work to enact needed change in the agricultural sector, we also must forge ahead with the more comprehensive immigration reforms so vital to our broader immigration system. Such comprehensive reform is needed to fully address our economic, humanitarian and security needs," concluded Butterfield and Golub.