The U.S. House recently passed a so-called “Farm Bill” that effectively gives illegals amnesty and puts existing immigration loopholes on steroids. As the measure moves to the Senate, it is every open-borders Democrat’s dream come true and working American’s worst nightmare.
Called the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, the legislation passed 260-165 along mostly partisan lines and is falsely touted as a way to lower the cost of seasonal workers for America’s agricultural sector. The current work visa system comes with more than its fair share of red tape and unnecessary expense. Seasonal immigrant help under the H-2A system has attached fees for filing an application, processing, border stamps, transportation, and miscellaneous housing and living expenses, among others. That’s basically the problem. But like most liberal “solutions,” the mostly Democrat legislation would have catastrophic effects on American workers.
Rather than address agricultural labor shortages and bureaucratic costs by streamlining and reforming the H-2A visa program, the bill allows migrants who are currently in the U.S. illegally an opportunity to secure five-and-a-half-year work visas and sidestep deportation. All illegals have to do is claim they have farm experience and have been working in the country for as little as six months in some cases. These illegals are admitting that they broke the law by sneaking across a border and getting exonerated.
Compounding the law enforcement issue, they are also admitting they worked under the table, committed identity fraud, and broke a host of other federal and state laws. Rather than spend time behind bars or be returned to their country of origin, they receive a 66-month get out of jail free card and a job that rightfully belongs to an American citizen. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act isn’t just an amnesty bill, it’s a travesty of justice.
As frightening as it may sound, the fact that members of Congress are willing to thumb their nose at law and order is not the worst part of the legislation. What working Americans should have heightened concern about is the damage it will do to wages and jobs.
“This amnesty bill is an attack on the American people, and in particular, it is an attack on blue-collar workers — people who work with their hands, people who already have a tough time making ends meet,” Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks said. “And the reason it is an attack on those individuals is because it does two things ultimately: One, it increases competition by illegal-alien labor that, in turn, takes jobs from hard-working American citizens. And two, it creates a huge surge in the labor supply, that in turn, it’s the wages of the least among us that are going to be suppressed because of this effort by the agricultural industry and the Democrats.”
It’s no secret that criminal migrants siphon off good-paying labor positions from citizens by undercutting fair, living wages. With upwards of 12 million foreigners in the country illegally, agricultural jobs would be lost, followed by other occupations. One hidden caveat is that these H-2A amnesty recipients can move to other American industries later.
As crushing as handing out these long-term H-2A visas would be in terms of wage stagnation, and working-class unemployment, that may be just the tip of the iceberg. The “amnesty-for-all” solution allows applicants to bring their families into the country. That means taxpayers would be paying for education, healthcare, and food stamps, for non-citizens
“The average cost of an illegal alien, on a net basis, is in the neighborhood of $9,000 to $10,000 per year, for each illegal alien,” Rep, Brooks added. “And so, what you’re looking at is the agricultural industry is trying to get subsidized labor, and the cost of that subsidy is on city taxpayers, county taxpayers, state taxpayers, and federal taxpayers.”
The Farm Bill scam would undermine the success of the Trump Administration to stop foreigners from pilfering off taxpayer welfare benefits. The measure also opens another Pandora’s Box of chain migration and anchor babies.
Because the new H-2A visas recipients would legally gain more than five years with their spouses and children, that puts them on a path to permanent legal status in the U.S. It would also open the door for them to then pivot and start bringing over siblings, grandparents, and even cousins in some instances. That’s precisely the slippery slope the Trump Administration has been fighting, and one that allows foreigners to take hourly-wage jobs away from U.S.-born citizens. The other poorly cloaked aspect of the misleading Farm Bill is that providing more than five years of legitimized status will mean more anchor babies. It’s a common practice for people to get on American soil and have a child, at taxpayer expense, so that infant secures citizenship, and they can stay.
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act holds out a carrot claiming to solve a labor issue for our great farmers. But, it’s really a Democrat sham to get illegal immigrants on to liberal voter rolls at the expense of hard-working American families.
