Mr. Speaker. I know of no farmer or grower who wants to employ illegal aliens. who knowingly breaks the law with impunity. The strained relations that often prevail between farmers and local INS agents attests to the difficulty of the current situation. The outcome. of course. is that farmers are often left without workers at those very times when they are most needed. My legislation amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to regularize the process whereby alien workers may be certified for temporary employment. I am not proposing a "bracero"-like program. although I am strongly supportive of efforts in this area. My amendments. rather. deal specifically with the (H) (I) program under which the Immigration and Naturalization Service may now issue nonimmigrant visas for temporary employment. The law currently allows temporary visas for no more than 1 year to be issued if the Secretary of Labor determines that unemployed persons who are able. willing. and qualified are not available in this country. I am proposing that. in the case of agriculture. this provision be changed to reflect the availability of agricultural labor in the specific area in which the employment or labor will be performed. It makes very little sense.
Keywords matched
Naturalization Immigration visas illegal aliens