Numerous U.S. agriculture organizations, including some representing citrus growers, recently sent letters to two U.S. Cabinet members regarding concerns about the federal H-2A guest worker program.
LETTER TO SECRETARY OF STATE
A letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio requested that the Department of State take action to streamline its portion of the H-2A filing process by expanding interview waivers.
The letter stated that agricultural employers “increasingly have no choice but to rely on the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program. Without these essential workers, crops go unharvested and operations face severe economic jeopardy.
“The H-2A program remains encumbered by significant regulatory complexity. Before a single worker arrives, employers must navigate a multi-agency process involving various state agencies, the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Department of State (State). When any link in this chain weakens, delays cascade across the system, imposing severe operational and financial consequences for growers and their workers …
“Compounding these delays, State’s expanded screening of applicants with any driving-related duties has created severe processing backlogs at consulates. While our organizations fully support robust national security protocols, these broad administrative delays are preventing legal, vetted H-2A workers from reaching farms when they are needed most. Cumulatively, employers have incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs for housing, food and security as their workers wait in consular queues. As more employers begin processing workers this season, the strain will only intensify.
“Fortunately, a proven and effective solution already exists: expanded visa interview waivers.”
LETTER TO SECRETARY OF LABOR
A letter to Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer urged that the DOL pause the certification of new H-2A prevailing wage determinations.
“Unsustainable increases in labor costs in recent years, driven by the terms and conditions of the H-2A program, are threatening the continued viability of U.S. agriculture,” the letter stated. It declared that “prevailing wage surveys are conducted by states pursuant to lax standards.”
The letter asked that the DOL “immediately halt the issuance of new H-2A prevailing wage determinations until the agency can complete rulemaking to reevaluate the use of an H-2A prevailing wage and ensure the integrity of the prevailing wage mechanism, if a prevailing wage continues to be required through regulations.”
Source: Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association
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