Congress Must Address Ag Labor Needs Before E-Verify System

The Agriculture Workforce Coalition has called on Congress to enact legislation to address the labor crisis facing American agriculture before implementing a mandatory E-Verify system. National Council of Farmer Cooperatives President and CEO Chuck Conner says mandatory E-Verify without addressing the broader labor crisis would be devastating.

Conner testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security during a hearing examining The Legal Workforce Act - saying the ag industry recognizes interior enforcement is needed - but that it cannot be decoupled from addressing the industry’s workforce concerns. An estimated 70-percent of hired farm workers lack proper authorization to work in the U.S. - and Conner says the only guest worker program available - H2A - is so cumbersome that it provides a small fraction of the workers farmers and ranchers need. He says farmers would welcome a simple, efficient and certain verification system as long as a solution is in place to ensure access to a legal, stable workforce.

Source NAFB