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Immigration Laws In Need Of Overhaul
It's time Congress and the White House do the right thing, for all of the right reasons -- pass meaningful immigration reform.
September 2009
Let’s not quibble over semantics. Our nation’s immigration laws are broken. They remind me of a rusty truck with broken windows, propped up on crumbling cinder blocks in an overgrown back yard. No engine, no tires, and out of gas.
By now, I believe everyone agrees our immigration laws are outdated and don’t work. If they did, there would be legal avenues for those who want to come here to work in jobs Americans are unavailable or unwilling to do — at any price. It literally takes years to get a valid visa to work legally in the U.S. By keeping America’s front door closed to economic migrants, our lawmakers have left them no choice but to slip through our back door. Frankly, our broken immigration system is not good for anyone.
Labor Pains
It’s one of the worst-kept secrets: labor-intensive industries — such as nursery, landscape, and agriculture — have a disproportionate share of workers without proper documentation. Is it the employer’s fault their workers are not legal? Employers are tired of being forced to look over their shoulders for fear of enforcement actions. Yet, this has not stopped the Obama Administration from announcing new guidelines directing immigration agents to target employers who hire illegal immigrants rather than simply going after undocumented employees.
These are truly anxious times. I want our border patrol focused on apprehending drug dealers, criminal smugglers, violent gang members, and would-be terrorists. Being forced to divert limited resources to catch those whose only “crime” is a genuine desire to work is making us less safe. Let’s face it, most immigrant workers share our American values: individual initiative, freedom, and family.
Either our food will be produced by illegal foreign workers here or our food will be produced by foreign workers abroad. I don’t know about you, but I believe food safety and keeping agricultural production in the U.S. is a national security issue.
Where The Rubber Meets The Road
Fanning emotional flames, immigration has been shown to be ripe for demagoguery. These attempts to demonize illegal aliens remind me of dark periods in our nation’s past. Yes, many immigrants broke the law to get here, but the law itself was broken first.
Unconditional forgiveness, otherwise known as amnesty, is not the answer. Yet, there must be a legal path for employers to encourage their workers to come forward and obtain proper temporary work-authorization documents. They must pay taxes, contribute to Social Security and Medicare, and go to the back of the immigration line to await their lawful turn to be allowed to stay in the U.S. to work.
Shifting Gears
It’s time our lawmakers in the nation’s capital embrace the AgJobs principles of immigration reform: (1) improvements to the H-2A agriculture guest-worker program; (2) a permanent rise in the annual cap of H-2B guest workers used by landscape firms; and (3) a path by which qualified workers here now can continue to work and contribute to a recovering American economy.
A true guest-worker program can be effective in securing our border. It can relieve the specter of enforcement against employers who genuinely want a legal workforce. Without a guest-worker program, illegal numbers will just continue to grow, and that’s not good for anyone.
After six tumultuous years and last November’s political sea change, the AgJobs legislation is amazingly still intact. With its expansive base of strong grower and worker advocate support, I believe AgJobs can pass on its own merit or as part of a more comprehensive immigration reform package.
It’s time Congress and the White House do the right thing, in the right way, for all of the right reasons — pass meaningful immigration reform. Let’s tow our old jalopy of immigration laws to the auto body shop for the overhaul deserved by employers and workers alike.
Ben Bolusky is the executive vice president of the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association.
Comments:
September 16, 2009
look into the old Nixon plan called bracero,I believe they paid into everything as Ben asks.The worker had to get police clearance(good conduct). They could work here for 10 mounths then had to return for 2 mos.Mexicans,Guatemalians,etc. are good honest workers and schould not be punished just trying to put food on the table.
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