Arizona Backtracks on Immigration

It appears that the results of Arizona's SB 1070 anti-immigration law has had a sobering effect on the citizens of that state.  Yesterday, the architect of the law was thrown out by voters in favor of a reform advocate.

Senator Russell Pearce (AZ-18), was soundly defeated by pro-immigrant challenger, Jerry Lewis, in a special election. Pearce authored the viciously anti-immigrant law in Arizona that was passed last year, and has since been duplicated in states across the country.
Pearce’s defeat is a warning bell to other lawmakers considering such legislation that citizens will not stand for these racial and discriminatory measures.
Our allies on the ground, Promise Arizona in Action fought relentlessly in this effort. Executive Director Petra Falcon said the organization will continue to hold politicians accountable: “This victory shows that the citizens of Arizona want fair immigration reform and will not stand for any law that racially profiles any segment of the community,” Falcon said. “It is now time for our community to move forward together, inclusively.”

Read more:  http://reformimmigrationforamerica.org/blog/blog/sb1070-architect-ousted-in-arizona-state-recall-election/

New Alabama Anti Immigration Law

What is happening in Alabama?

Repeal of New Immigration Law in Alabama

State Senator Beasley from Alabama has introduced legislation to repeal the newly enacted laws against illegal immigrants.  He claims most representatives did not understand the negative effects that the law would have on citizens of Alabama.

MONTGOMERY -- Alabama Sen. Billy Beasley has filed a bill to repeal Alabama's sweeping immigration law, saying it is causing severe workforce shortages and problems in state courthouses and schools.
"The people in the agriculture community are not happy with it because they can't get workers. The folks in the courthouses are not happy with it. The folks in the school business are not happy with it," said the Democrat from Clayton.
Beasley said three other Democrats have signed on as co-sponsors of the proposed repeal, and he hopes more legislators will support the measure.
"I think there is a large contingent of folks who didn't realize what it was going to do," Beasley said.
However, Sen. Scott Beason, who sponsored the immigration law in the Senate, said he will fight attempts to undo or weaken the law.
"I can't imagine that anyone would want to repeal the bill," said Beason, R-Gardendale.
Beasley voted against the bill when it was before Alabama lawmakers. He said the new law has caused a "world of fear" for people in the Hispanic community.
"It's kind of a mean-spirited law," Beasley said.
Beasley said the law has caused workforce shortages in many industries, as legal and illegal immigrants leave the state. He said it also is causing long lines at courthouse and is putting an unfunded mandate on county jails to hold suspected illegal immigrants.
The Clayton senator said he also was doubtful the law would open up jobs for Alabamians because many people don't want the labor-intensive jobs the immigrants are performing.
But Beason said he believes the law is working.
"It's doing what it is supposed to be doing overall," Beason said.
He said the immigration law appeared to be moving an illegal workforce out of the state, and an adjustment period is to be expected. He pointed out the law has been in effect only six days.
He said he believes getting rid of illegal workers will create jobs for Alabamians. "Apparently a lot of people were working an illegal workforce," Beason said.

Read more from this source: 

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/10/state_sen_billy_beasley_files.html

New Alabama Law: Crops rot in the field

Nueva ley de inmigración de Alabama.  Es el más severa de los EEUU.  Los partidarios dicen que la norma debe producir más trabajo para los ciudadanos mientras que las voces criticas aseguran que saca los derechos civiles. Pero la cosecha se pudre en los campos y los agricultores no pueden encontrar trabajadores suficientes para cosechar, porque la mayoría de los trabajadores - legales y sin papeles - han salido los trabajos y han huido.  Tambien, los administradores de cárceles se preocupan que no tienen espacio ni capacidad para detener más personas.

New immigration law in Alabama.  It's the most severe in the US.  Supporters say that the rule should produce more work for citizens while critics claim that it robs some of civil rights.  But food is rotting in the fields and farmers are unable to find sufficient workers to harvest their crops, since most of the workers have left their jobs and departed from the area.  Jail administrators are also concerned since they don't have the capacity to hold detainees.

Arizona Anti-immigrant Law Backfires. Mexicans Welcome Back

Arizona's anti-immigration law is causing tremendous economic hardships on Arizona's businesses and citizens.  In a radical change of heart, many are calling for a new worker visa program in order to bring mexican workers back to Arizona.

Telling the New American Dreamers - "Go Elsewhere !"

By JENNIFER EPSTEIN | 6/15/11 8:02 AM EDT Updated: 6/15/11 4:18 PM EDT

In a major speech to the Council on Foreign Relations on Wednesday, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the United States risks “national suicide” if it doesn’t adopt a more welcoming immigration policy.

“We will not remain a global superpower if we continue to close our doors to people who want to come here to work hard, start businesses, and pursue the American dream,” Bloomberg said.

 "The American dream cannot survive if we keep telling the dreamers to go elsewhere,” the mayor adds. “It’s what I call national suicide – and that’s not hyperbole.”

Immigration reform, he argues, is the key to creating new jobs and setting the economy on a steady path into the future.
Bloomberg’s speech comes as the Partnership for a New American Economy, of which he is a co-chair, releases a report looking at the role that immigrants play at Fortune 500 companies and the potential. Forty percent of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or the children of immigrants, the report notes.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57013.html#ixzz1UVNClVIv

Legal Immigration: How long Is the Wait?

National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), in a May 2006 study entitled "Legal Immigrants: Waiting Forever An Analysis of the Green Card Backlogs and Processing Delays Affecting Families, Skilled Professionals and U.S. Employers," concluded:

"Why don’t people wait to immigrate legally to the United States? The answer is that many people do come here legally but processing delays and the family and employment-based immigration quotas legislated by Congress result in significant wait times – and much frustration – for potential immigrants and U.S. employers. [...] Many Americans do not realize the significant waiting times foreign visitors and business travelers experience to obtain a visa to enter the United States...

Those who 'play by the rules' are likely to wait many years to become a lawful permanent resident, whether they are sponsored by an employer or a family member. Waits for green cards (permanent residence) in the Skilled Workers and Professionals category have worsened considerably in the past few years, with the current wait for a newly sponsored high skill immigrant in this category exceeding 5 years...

Siblings of U.S. citizens can expect to wait 11 to 12 years from today before immigrating to America (22 years from the Philippines). Unmarried adult children can anticipate waiting 6 years, but 13 years if from Mexico and 14 years from the Philippines. A spouse or minor child of a legal resident (green card holder) from Mexico has a 7 year wait (a 5 year wait from other countries)."

May 2006 - National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP)

See more of this and similar articles:  http://immigration.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000760

25% of Start-up Firms: Immigrants at work

Foreigners in the US are responsible for nearly 25 percent of start-up American firms, findings of a latest research by Harvard, NYU and Duke, UC-Berkeley reveal.

No wonder, several policy makers are being asked for increasing the quota for highly skilled worker visas in the US.

As per the study, out of the total start-up companies established between the year 1995 and 2005 in Silicon Valley, nearly 52 percent were by foreigners.
And the number of patents filed by immigrants in the US for the same period is said to be 25.6 percent which is up by 337 percent since the year 1998.

Its not just in the US that the immigrant investors have been found to be making significant contribution towards start-up firms, in fact, foreigners seem to be leading in investments in several other nations too including Canada.
According to reports, a Vancouver entrepreneur group has been asking the federal government for starting ‘startup visas’ for foreign investors wanting to come and invest in Canada.
In a similar move, the US government is being asked for creation of a US startup visa and the bill is being sponsored by US Senators Richard Lugar, Republican of Indians and John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts.

The bill will provide any foreign entrepreneur a temporary US work visa if he obtains a minimum amount of $100,000 for investment for gaining US permanent residency.
In addition, the immigrant entrepreneur will also be responsible for creating at least five new jobs in the US in the period of two years, generate venture capital exceeding $1 million or $1 million sales each year.
Such changes in the federal policy of the US which favor potential foreign entrepreneurs would lead to growth and innovation in the US, agree several experts including a law professor at Yale University, Peter Schuck, and corporate secretary and vice president of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, John Tyler.

Several nations like Australia, Germany, the UK and some other European nations already have changed their immigration process in order to allow foreign immigrant investors and high-skilled immigrants into their nations.

Source:  http://www.canadaupdates.com/content/immigrants-behind-quarter-us-start-firms-16233.html

Reduction in Immigration from Mexico - It's the economy, stupid!

According to BBC Mundo reporter Alberto Nájar, fewer undocumented Mexicans are coming to the US.  There appears to be several reasons for this phenomenon which began 3 years ago:

1. The economy in Mexico is improving slightly, providing more opportunity without emigrating.
2. The economy in the US has been in crisis, leaving less opportunity here: fewer jobs and lower wages.
3. Emigrants must run the gauntlet of narco thugs just to reach their northern border.
4. Border surveillance has increased.
5. Anti-immigrant laws have increased in many regions of the US.  The local climate is much less friendly after arrival in many states.

The result is having effects in communities in Mexico.

See the following article in BBC Mundo:

El "sueño americano" atrae a menos mexicanos

Alberto Nájar

BBC Mundo, Ciudad de México

La vigilancia en la frontera sur de Estados Unidos influye en la caída migratoria

Hace unos meses las autoridades de Michoacán, en el oeste de México, notaron un súbito aumento en los estudiantes matriculados en las escuelas. También subieron las solicitudes a sus programas sociales, y después hubo informes de que las fiestas en algunos pueblos fueron más concurridas de lo normal.

En los tres hechos hay un común denominador: bajó la migración de mexicanos hacia Estados Unidos.

De hecho, en el último censo de población el gubernamental Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Geografía (Inegi), detectó más personas de las esperadas pues muchos que pensaban emigrar decidieron quedarse.

El fenómeno empieza a cambiar la vida en muchas comunidades de México, especialmente las que dependen de remesas o tienen problemas de marginación. Michoacán, uno de los estados con mayor flujo migratorio del país, es un ejemplo.
El cambio demográfico genera aprietos económicos al gobierno local, porque no alcanza el presupuesto para atender a las familias que se quedaron sin remesas, volvieron de Estados Unidos o fueron deportados.
"Hay más demanda. Tenemos miles de personas más en el estado y todos necesitan un empleo, comer, generar recursos", le dice a BBC Mundo Zaida Mandujano, secretaria del Migrante de Michoacán.

Remesas sistémicas

"El problema ya no es sólo cruzar el desierto sino de que te asalten y te maten antes de llegar a la frontera"

Jorge Durand, especialista en migración, Universidad de Guadalajara

¿Por qué bajó la migración a Estados Unidos?
Hay varias respuestas, dice Jorge Durand, académico de la Universidad de Guadalajara y uno de los pioneros en la investigación del fenómeno en México.
La primera es la crisis económica estadounidense que afectó sobre todo a las áreas donde trabaja la mayoría de los indocumentados mexicanos, es decir, la construcción y servicios.
Otra respuesta es el clima de inseguridad en México por la guerra contra y entre carteles, que hace más peligroso el viaje.
"El problema ya no es sólo cruzar el desierto sino de que te asalten y te maten antes de llegar a la frontera", explica Durand a BBC Mundo. "El riesgo que había en años anteriores se multiplicó por diez".
Una explicación más es que quienes financiaban la migración indocumentada ya no pueden hacerlo.
En el último siglo los mexicanos establecieron una extensa red de familiares y amigos que les acogían y ayudaban a conseguir empleo, además de prestar dinero para cubrir la cuota de los "coyotes", como se llama a los traficantes de humanos.
El mecanismo, conocido como "remesa sistémica", dejó de funcionar hace tres años.
"El que está allá o no tiene trabajo, o vive una situación precaria en su empleo. La mayoría no tiene dinero para prestar a los familiares", explica Durand.

Cambios

El flujo migratorio también bajó por el clima anti inmigrante en varias regiones de Estados Unidos, sobre todo en donde los congresos locales autorizaron nuevas más leyes más restrictivas contra los indocumentados, y también porque aumentó la vigilancia en la frontera sur de ese país.
Todos estos factores hacen más cara la decisión de emigrar, pues contrario a otros años ahora la ganancia es menor. Hace una década la diferencia salarial entre México y Estados Unidos era de 8 a 1 pero se redujo a la mitad, afirma Durand. Otros expertos coinciden en que la situación socioeconómica de muchas comunidades mexicanas ha mejorado en la última década.

Zaida Mandujano, secretaria del Migrante de Michoacán, reconoce el impacto que la caída de la migración tiene en sus comunidades.

Así, muchos mexicanos piensan dos veces antes de salir del país lo cual complica la situación de las comunidades de origen, cuenta Zaida Mandujano.
En muchos municipios aún sigue la pobreza que impulsó a la migración, algo que no cambiará en el corto plazo según han reconocido las autoridades.
"En los últimos tres años ha habido cambios radicales, y los gobiernos deben adaptarse a la realidad del fenómeno", reconoce la secretaria del Migrante.

Joroba migratoria

Según Durand la caída en la migración es un fenómeno temporal, pues en la medida que mejore la economía estadounidense habrá más oportunidades de empleo para los indocumentados.
Pero es difícil volver a las cifras que hubo en la década pasada, cuando emigró un promedio de 500.000 mexicanos cada año.
Ahora el flujo anual de indocumentados es menor a 300.000 personas, según datos oficiales.
Esto no significa que el fenómeno se detenga en el corto plazo, sobre todo porque la economía mexicana no crece al ritmo necesario.
A este proceso los especialistas le llaman "joroba migratoria", es decir, durante varios años el flujo se mantiene en crecimiento, pero después empieza a bajar. Algo que ya ocurre en México, según los especialistas.

Racial Hate Groups - Grupos de Odio Racial

Source: BBC Mundo

EE.UU.: grupos de odio racial florecen en la era de Obama
Jonny Dymond

BBC, Estados Unidos

Analistas aseguran que hay un auge de grupos extremistas de derecha en Estados Unidos.
¿Fue la elección de Barack Obama como presidente de Estados Unidos un factor que impulsó el crecimiento del extremismo de derecha y los llamados grupos de "odio racial" en ese país?

Una cosa curiosa ocurre cuando uno camina por la calle en Spokane, Washington, a primera hora de la mañana. Hay desconocidos que lo miran a uno a los ojos, y le dicen, con una sonrisa: "buenos días".

Es esa clase de pueblo. Al menos en comparación con algunos de los otros pueblos y ciudades en los Estados Unidos, es amigable con los extraños.

Lo que hace que el fallido atentado ocurrido aquí contra una marcha por los derechos civiles en enero pasado sea aún más difícil de comprender.

Neonazis
Contenido relacionadoLos 'ultras' y la sombra del racismo en el fútbol rusoMéxico: sacan del aire un canal de BBC por "racismo" en Top GearLas "cholas" de Lady Gaga estarán en los Grammy
El hombre acusado de haber dejado una mochila llena de explosivos y metralla - cubierta de veneno para ratas con el fin de detener la coagulación sanguínea - es Kevin Harpham, un veterano del ejército con un interés en los grupos neonazis.

La difícil verdad para Spokane, para el estado de Washington, para el vecino estado de Idaho y para todo EE.UU., es que los grupos de odio - anti-negro, anti-judío, neo-nazis - están aumentando de nuevo.

Y casi todo el mundo, incluidos los miembros de esos grupos, coincide en que la elección de Barack Obama ha sido un catalizador para el aumento del apoyo que esas agrupaciones reciben.

"Estamos viendo un resurgimiento de los grupos de odio porque estamos viendo la actividad democrática y el aumento del poder de los ciudadanos que no son anglosajones protestantes"

Maria Verner, alcaldesa de Spokane

"Yo no diría que me sorprende", dice la alcaldesa de Spokane María Verner, "a pesar de que me parece alarmante".

"Estamos viendo un resurgimiento de los grupos de odio porque estamos viendo la actividad democrática y el aumento del poder de los ciudadanos que no son anglosajones protestantes".

Fue una reacción parecida a la que expresó el alguacil local, Ozzie Knezovich, cuando se enteró de que una bomba había sido dejada por el camino de una marcha conmemorativa en honor a Martin Luther King en marzo pasado.

"¿Sorprendido? No", dice. "Vivimos en un mundo diferente - el odio parece ser un fenómeno muy extendido en estos momentos".

"Explosión" de los grupos
Y hay ciudadanos de a pie - y sus hijos - que están en el extremo receptor de la actividad de los grupos de odio en Washington y Idaho.

Rachel Dolezal, profesora de arte y estudios afro-americanos, ha sido repetidamente acosada ​​desde que la gente supo lo que enseñaba.

Alguien dejó una cruz gamada en la puerta de su lugar de trabajo.

Y ha tenido que actuar para proteger a su hijo.

"De hecho, le compré un par de tapones para los oídos, para que los use en el autobús", dice ella, "porque escucha la palabra ´nigger´ (insulto racista contra los afroestadounidenses) todos los días".

"Parece que las cosas estaban silenciadas y desinfectadas, o algo así, y Barack Obama simplemente hizo que salieran a la superficie cosas que ya existen dentro de la gente"

Rachel Dolezal, profesora de estudios afro estadounidenses

"Parece que las cosas estaban silenciadas y desinfectadas, o algo así, y Barack Obama simplemente hizo que salieran a la superficie cosas que ya existen dentro de la gente".

Los grupos de odio racial y otros grupos de la extrema derecha – como las llamados organizaciones Patriotas, que prometen resistirse al control del gobierno federal, así como grupos anti-inmigrantes nativistas - son vigilados por el Southern Poverty Law Centre (SPLC), una organización no gubernamental.

"En el otoño de 2008", dice el director del Proyecto Inteligencia del SPLC, Mark Potok, "empezamos a ver una explosión en los grupos de odio racial, pero más en general en todos los grupos de derecha."

Separatistas

                                                 Jerald O'Brian, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Si Mark Potok quería la confirmación de su investigación, la podría encontrar al otro lado de la frontera de Spokane, en la ciudad de Coeur d'Alene, en el estado de Idaho.

Sentado al frente de su casa al atardecer está Jerald O'Brien, flanqueado por las banderas de los grupos "Aryan Nations" (Naciones Arias) y "Church of Jesus Christ-Christian".


Jerald O´Brien acusa a los judíos de ser "hijos de Satanás".

Naciones Arias es un grupo separatista blanco extremadamente anti-judío. Él insiste en que no tolera o fomenta cualquier acto de violencia. Pero llama a los judíos "los hijos de Satanás".

Acusa falsamente a Barack Obama de ser judío y de no ser un ciudadano de los EE.UU. Pero tiene motivos para agradecer al presidente.

"El día después de la elección de Barack Obama", dice, "mi teléfono no paraba de sonar. Eran hasta cuatro o cinco al día preguntando por información".

Algunos menosprecian a los hombres como Jerald O'Brien, y grupos como Naciones Arias, tildándolos de "locos".

Pero Mark Potok está preocupado.

"Creo que estamos en un período muy similar al que vivimos en el período previo al atentado de Oklahoma City (cometido en 1995)", dice. "En cuanto a un ataque similar, si va a ocurrir, no lo sabemos".

"Estamos muy cerca del número máximo de activistas que hubo durante la cúspide del movimiento de las milicias (de extrema derecha)", agrega.

The Politics of Immigration

The Republican Party is increasingly becoming an exclusionary party of white anglos.  As the demographics of our population changes, Republicans are choosing to sideline themselves.

Send them HOME !

They are stealing our jobs.  They aren't paying any taxes.  They are a drain on our society.  They are having babies so they can claim social services and stay in our country.  They don't speak our language.  Send them HOME !

Send us your huddled masses.

 Irish immigrants a century ago.

Republican Senator of turns against Hispanic heritage

"I can't think of a more generous immigration policy than the one his parents benefitted from," Gutierrez, a liberal from Chicago of Puerto Rican descent, told POLITICO on Wednesday. "All they had to do was show up."He was referring to Sen. Marco Rubio (R- Fla), the newly elected representative born of Cuban immigrant parents.

"It is the story of a bartender and a maid in Florida. Today their son serves here in the Senate, and stands as a proud witness of the greatness of this land." says Rubio.

So what does this star example of the American Dream advocate in the way of today's immigration reform efforts? 
"Senator Rubio repeatedly and consistently stressed border security and E-Verify would be his immediate priorities."....Rubio has dismissed the DREAM Act as “blanket amnesty” for illegal immigrants.
America's Voice blasted : "Marco Rubio Sells out Hispanic Community."

“Marco Rubio has become a go-along Washington insider overnight," said Lynn Tramonte, deputy director of America’s Voice. "By championing mandatory E-Verify, the big government program with a 50 percent fail rate, Rubio has thrown Hispanics under the bus in order to cozy up to anti-immigrant ‘leaders’ in Congress like Sen. Grassley and Rep. Lamar Smith. ...
"The fact that Marco Rubio put his name on this bill shows that he just doesn’t get it. He is incapable of being a real bridge to the Latino community for the GOP."

Read more of this and other articles:  http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0611/Gutierrez_goes_after_Rubio_on_immigration.html

E-Verify fails to detect illegal aliens: 54% failure rate

Raul A. Reyes responds to the L.A. Times Op-Ed article on E-Verify:

"Reps. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) advocate the mandatory use of E-Verify to preserve jobs for Americans and crack down on illegal immigration. As a supporter of comprehensive reform, I read their Op-Ed article with great interest and was disheartened by their faulty reasoning, especially in light of the considerable influence the two members of Congress wield over our nation's immigration policy."

He adds that in a test of the system by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, it was found that E-Verify cleared 54% of undocumented workers to work... and that the Department of Homeland Security estimates it would have to spend $765 million on staff, technology and training if the program were to go national and small businesses would have to pay about $2.6 BILLION each year to use the program."

It is clear the intent is not to create jobs for U.S. workers.  Reps. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) are trying to deport as  many immigrants as quickly as possible, before a way can be found for them to work toward becoming citizens.

I hate all crackers.

The crackers are taking all our jobs and eating all our corn.  We need a fence to keep them out.

Well maybe we should make it against the law for crackers to come here. 

Farmers: E-Verify a disaster for Americans

It sounds like the E-verify program, by itself, would cause a sudden and disastrous change in our way of doing things in America. 

Photo:  tribwekchron.com

If 80% of our farm workers are illegal immigrants, and if we suddenly enforce the laws which keep the farmers from hiring them, what happens to the food?  What happens to the farmers?  What happens to the illegals?  What happens to us when we want to buy groceries or eat a meal?

Will farmers just lose their farms?  Will the banks that have loaned money to the farmers foreclose on the farms?  Do the banks want the farmland?  What will it cost Americans to buy all our food imported from Mexico?  Will the farmers go on welfare? -- they may not be trained in office jobs and most of our factory jobs have already been sent abroad.

Most farmers will tell you that in their efforts to hire workers, they can't find enough legal workers to harvest their crops - or should we say "OUR" crops, since we are the consumers of those crops?

Alicia A. Caldwell from the Associated Press highlights the dilemna we face in answering these questions:

The agriculture industry fears a disaster on the horizon if the bit of new immigration policy that Congress seems to agree on becomes law.
A plan to require all American businesses to check their employees through E-Verify, a program that confirms that each is legally entitled to work in the U.S., could wreak havoc on an industry where 80 percent of the field workers are illegal immigrants.
"We are headed toward a train wreck," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat whose district includes agriculture-rich areas.
Lofgren said that farmers want to hire legal workers and U.S. citizens but that it's nearly impossible given the relatively low wages and back-breaking work.
Wages can range from minimum wage to more than $20 an hour. But workers are often paid by the piece; the faster they work, they more they make. A steady income lasts only as long as the planting and harvesting seasons.
"Few citizens express interest, in large part because this is hard, tough work," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak said last week. "Our broken immigration system offers little hope for producers to do the right thing."
Last year the United Farm Workers launched a Take Our Jobs campaign to entice Americans into the fields. But President Arturo Rodriguez said that of about 86,000 inquiries, only 11 workers took jobs.
"That really was thought up by farmworkers trying to figure out what is it we needed to do to show that we are not trying to take away anyone's job," Rodriguez said.
Manuel Cunha, president of Nisei Farmers League, a group representing growers in Central California, said farmers don't have the wherewithal to verify workers' status.
"If we were to use E-Verify now, we'd shut down -- either that or farmers would go to prison," said Cunha, a Fresno-based citrus farmer.
Shawn Coburn, a politically active farmer who grows thousands of acres of almonds in west Fresno County, said he favors tighter borders, a guest worker program and a path to citizenship for those already in the U.S., or at the very least their children. But, like Cunha, he believes that a mandatory E-Verify plan would be nothing but trouble for the industry.
"I don't think it's going to happen, but if it does it would throw the California economy for a loop," Coburn said.
Without a broad policy overhaul in the works, industry officials have focused on improving the H-2A temporary agricultural workers visa program, which is aimed at allowing seasonal workers to work on U.S. farms.
The program, is costly, time-consuming and inefficient, however, according to Cathleen Enright, vice president of federal government affairs for the Western Growers Association.
Lee Wicker, deputy director of the North Carolina Growers Association said the H-2A program "is too expensive, it's too litigious, it's too bureaucratic.
Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said farmers in his area want to do the right thing and hire legal workers but are frustrated with the stifling bureaucracy that comes with the visa program.
"It's a labyrinthine visa process, with the slow walking of applications," Gowdy said.
"You could not by accident come up with a better plan to ruin the small family farm."
Farmers, he said, "are just at their wits' end."

H-2A Temporary Agricultural Workers

Could you meet the requirements of this program, if you wanted to hire some help?

Perhaps if you ran a company the size of Google or Microsoft, you could afford the research and paperwork necessary to prove these requirements.  But get real, folks.  99% of businesses can't afford the costs of meeting the hurdles of this H-2A program.  Here is what  the Dept of Homeland Security's site:  U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has to say about hiring temporary farm workers, if you want to do it legally:


The H-2A program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary agricultural jobs for which U.S. workers are not available. 

To qualify for H-2A non immigrant classification:

• The job offered must be of a temporary or seasonal nature
• The employer must demonstrate that there are not sufficient U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to do the temporary work
• The employer must show that the employment of H-2A workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers

Agriculture Worker Visa Program for migrant workers

How easy is it to find agricultural workers who are legally in the US?  According to D.A. King of the Gwinnett Daily Post  it sounds fairly easy and profitable.  "An ag employer (farmer) can bring to the U.S. as many legal workers as he wants under the H2A Agriculture Worker Visa program."  

We'd love to hear from some farmers who have tried this program.  What were the obstacles?  Did it cost you more?  Was it worth the price?  Did you, or could you pass on these costs to your customers?  How many workers did you bring in under this program?  What does it mean to "bring in" ?  Did you have to go to Mexico (or elsewhere) to find workers, or just sign up with the government as a "host" for foreign workers?  Did you pay for them to come?  Would you use this method again to find workers?  How hard is it for you to find U.S. citizens to work for you?  What are your crops?
=========================================

Article By
   D. A. King

There is currently much consternation and hand wringing over the fact that the Georgia legislature may actually move to protect jobs by clamping down on illegal hiring with the no-cost federal E-Verify system. But a key component of the story is not widely known.
The argument du jour from the usual suspects opposed to enforcement is that Georgia would somehow lose its agriculture industry if we comply with the federal law making employment of illegal aliens well, you know — illegal.
While the media have faithfully reported on the agriculture angle, the existence of the legal alternative to continuing to hire black market farm laborers who have escaped capture at our borders has so far eluded mention.
It is something called the H2A agricultural worker visa.
This agricultural program establishes lawful means for agricultural employers who anticipate a shortage of domestic workers to bring an unlimited number — no ceiling! — of temporary foreign workers into the United States.
But the grateful, legal, temporary workers looking for a better life must be treated with dignity and respect. Employers must provide free housing that meets lawful safety and health standards and provide workers’ compensation insurance to workers at no cost to the worker.
The wage for H2A workers must be the same as that for U.S. workers. The rate must also be at least as high as the applicable prevailing wage rate the wage.
The employer must provide either three meals a day to each worker or furnish free and convenient cooking and kitchen facilities for workers to prepare their own meals. If meals are provided, then the employer may charge each worker a certain amount per day for the three meals.
These requirements obviously make hiring the more “flexible” and desperate illegal labor considerably more profitable. And there is little fear of federal punishment.
An H2A visa is usually issued for a period of one year and can be extended by two one-year extensions for a maximum of three years. Then the temporary workers must return to their home country — making them poor prospects for creating a resentful “oppressed” and “victimized” political constituency willing to march in American streets demanding legalization.
The concept that illegal workers are integral in or necessary for Georgia’s largest industry is complete fertilizer.
Readers may want to pass the H2A facts on to their state lawmakers and remind them that illegal immigration is a direct result of illegal employment.
And that with E-Verify — and courageous vigilance — we have the tools to stop illegal hiring.
D.A. King is a nationally recognized authority on illegal immigration and president of the Georgia-based Dustin Inman Society, which advocates for enforcement of immigration and employment laws. He has been an authorized E-Verify user since 2005

Read more from the Source: http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/opinion/headlines/KING_E-Verify_not_a_risk_to_our_agriculture_114331934.html?storySection=story

E-Verify: a dagger in the heart of Agriculture

By Mahwish Khan
[Last weeks] Supreme Court ruling to uphold Arizona’s law requiring state businesses use the E-Verify system strikes a crushing blow to the Arizona agriculture industry.  If other states follow Arizona’s lead, or if Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) gets his wish and rams through a mandatory E-Verify law this summer, it will be the beginning of the end for American farms, domestic food sources, and related jobs held by Americans in production, processing, transportation, and marketing. In the absence of Comprehensive Immigration Reform at the federal level, mandatory E-Verify will deport farms and jobs. This will hurt all Americans.


According to Lynn Tramonte, Deputy Director of America’s Voice Education Fund:

Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling is a dagger in the heart of Arizona agriculture.  If this type of law spreads nationwide, we will essentially deport the entire agriculture industry—including jobs held by Americans—and be forced to import more of our nation’s food supply.  Passing a mandatory E-Verify law without comprehensive immigration reform will kill American jobs and farms, burden small businesses, reduce tax revenue, and drive undocumented workers further underground. 

http://americasvoiceonline.org/blog/entry/arizona_e-verify_law_supreme_courts_immigration_decision/