In the USA they proposed creating an alternative to the green card - a blue card

Rep. Jimmy Panetta and Senator Dianne Feinstein co-sponsored the bill, which would provide a possible way for citizenship workers in the agricultural sector, as well as ensure the stability of labor in this area.

Jimmy Panetta, co-author of the project. Photo: Wikipedia / panetta.house.gov

Dozens of lawmakers have joined the sponsors of the bill, including more than 20 from California. The Blue Card bill could give a chance for the revival of the US agricultural industry, reviving the aging and in many ways marginal labor, writes The californian.

The Monterey County Housing and Farmers Action Plan for 2018 for the Salinas and Paharo valleys clearly shows that more than 2016 91 agricultural workers lived and worked in the district in 000 year. It is estimated that half the farmers in California are not documented, and the average age of agricultural workers is increasing dramatically. This means that the district needs an infusion of young workers with documents.

According to the executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau, Norma Groota, the program for temporary agricultural workers has been a problem for over ten years in the Salinas Valley. In recent years, farmers have experienced labor shortages due to a lack of H-2A programs and an increase in the average age of workers.

Under the Blue Card program, anyone who has worked in the agricultural field for 100 days in the past two years has the opportunity to apply for participation. This may allow such people and their families to obtain work permits and protection against deportation.

Dianne Feinstein, co-author of the project. Photo: Wikipedia / feinstein.senate.gov

After working in the fields for a further 150 days a year for three years (or 100 days a year for five years), blue card holders will be eligible to apply for legal residence and then citizenship.

The average agricultural worker in Monterey County spends 7,5 months at specific locations and has been working with one employer for about four years. Most workers have completed only primary school and receive an average income of 25 000 dollars per year.

“Ever since this administration took over the White House, the immigrant community has been under constant threat,” said Leidy Rangel, communications specialist for the United Farm Workers Foundation. “We know that farmers deserve the chance to work without the constant threat of separation from their families.”

“It will also provide agricultural workers with a stable workforce,” Rangel said. “We will take steps to ensure that all agricultural representatives sign on to this bill.”

Rangel also quoted a new law that came into force on January 1 of 2019 of the year, which reduces the amount of time the worker spends on the field until the time when the time will be counted as overtime. According to Rangel, this is additional protection for such workers.

The California Federation of Farmers Bureau, a nonprofit organization that protects family farms and ranches, approved the Blue Card bill in a press release.

According to the organization’s president (CFBF), Jamie Johansson, the bill considers a critical component of immigration reform.

“Farm workers and farmers need legislation that regulates the legal status of workers and their immediate family members currently in the country,” Johansson said.

“While this legislation is an important first step, CFBF supports comprehensive immigration reform that will make it easier for future workers to migrate to and from their home countries and move from farm to farm in search of work,” he said, calling on Congress to continue to meet the needs of farmers and workers through more comprehensive immigration reform.

In 2013 and 2017, Feinstein introduced two earlier versions of this bill with varying degrees of support. Panetta was a supporter of the bill version of the year 2017.

“Panetta’s support for this bill has not changed,” spokeswoman Sarah Davey said. - The question is why now? Because the urgency increases. The Trump administration's deportation policies and Obama's rollbacks are progressing, so there is concern that farmworkers will be hit harder than they have been in the last few years."

Davey added that many farm workers have been living in Monterey County for so long that they have made the same great contribution to the economy as any other US resident.

“The opportunity for these individuals to get on the path to citizenship is our focus and priority,” Davey said.

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