Immigration was the topic of news conferences, meetings at the White House and a House Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday. While Tuesday’s hearing was focused on border security, the history of immigration law and the issue of allowing highly educated people to enter or remain in the country – Chairman Bob Goodlatte mentioned agriculture in his opening statement. According to Goodlatte – U.S. laws erect unnecessary hurdles for farmers who put food on America’s tables. He said our agriculture guest worker program is simply unworkable and needs to be reformed. CNN reports a guest worker program is on House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s mind as well. He said any plan on reforming the system must include increased border security and a guest worker program before any discussion can take place on a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already in the country. Farmers are also on the mind of Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren – who said we need to reform our employment visa system so tech companies, farmers and other businesses have access to needed workers.
Source: NAFB News Service