In one of the first major steps to immigration reform as promised by the Biden administration, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act in a vote of 247 to 174. The bipartisan vote had the support of 30 Republicans with just one Democrat voting against the bill. This is the second time the bill has successfully passed the U.S. House.

Pathway to Permanent Residency

The bill is broken up into three parts. The first part would allow migrant farmworkers a pathway to permanent status in the U.S. There are some parameters, however. Farmworkers who have worked at least 180 days within the past two years would be eligible to apply for temporary status as “Certified Agricultural Workers.”

Permanent status can be achieved for migrants who have worked longer. Migrants who have worked in the U.S. for more than 10 years would need to work an additional four years in order to apply for a green card. For those migrants who have worked less than 10 years, they would need to continue working for an additional eight years before they could apply for their green card. All applicants seeking legal permanent residency will be subject to a background check as well as a $1,000 fee.

Expansion of the H-2A Guest Worker Program and E-Verify

The second part of the bill pertains to expanding the current H-2A Guest Worker Program. The program allows employers in the agriculture sector to grant foreign workers a temporary work permit for jobs lasting 10 months or less. The new bill would introduce changes to the program that include making the filing process more simplified and mainstreamed for employers. The bill also pushes for expanding the program so that other industries including dairy farms and nurseries can participate in hiring foreign workers.

Other aspects of expanding this program include wage reform so that employee wages are reflective of the cost of living, reducing housing costs, and implementing steps to fill labor needs throughout the year. Many Latin American migrants who are seeking asylum at the border could stand to benefit from the expansion of the H-2A Guest Worker Program.

The third part of the bill pertains to tracking employees in the agriculture sector. The bill would enforce E-Verify to be used by all agricultural employers. E-Verify is a federal online database that tracks and determines whether or not an individual is legally authorized to work in the United States.

The president explains of this bill, “Farmworkers are vital to the wellbeing of our country and our economy. For generations, America’s farmworkers – many of whom are undocumented – have worked countless hours to feed our nation and ensure our communities are healthy and strong.” Biden adds, “farmworkers have put their lives and the lives of their loved ones on the line to ensure that families across the country have food on the table.”

Although the bill has the support of the many pro-immigration groups, aspects of the bill, specifically the mandate that agricultural employers use E-Verify, have received criticism. Edgar Franks, the political director for Familias Unidas por la Justicia, explains that mandating E-Verify for agriculture employers unfairly targets undocumented workers. Franks argues that mandating a sector that primarily employs undocumented immigrants would put a target on those undocumented immigrants' backs because they may no longer be able to gain employment in the future or they may lose the job they currently have.

Franks explains, "Many of the workers have been here already for 20, 30 years working, and providing and sacrificing for the agricultural industry and for the economy here in the United States. An e-verify system would be very punitive to workers that have been here undocumented looking for a better life, and to all of a sudden be kind of punished by this e-verify system when they've already given so much to this country. I think that would be a very unfair process."

As the bill moves to the Senate, migrant advocacy groups including Familias Unidas por la Justicia hope that legislators will also include migrant farmworkers in discussions of any amendments to the bill. Of course, it is fair to say that it's unclear whether or not migrants would feel comfortable voicing their opinion on current conditions.