Immigration bill creating green card process for farmworkers passes House, legislation now goes to Senate

Rebecca Morin
USA TODAY
3/18/2021

WASHINGTON – The House on Thursday passed legislation that would create a pathway for undocumented farmworkers to earn a green card, sending the bill to the Senate.

The bill, called the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, cleared the chamber in a bipartisan 247-174 vote. Thirty Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the bill. One Democrat, Rep Jared Golden of Maine, voted against the legislation.

Unlike the American Dream and Promise Act, which also passed the House Thursday by a slim majority, Republican House leaders did not urge other GOP lawmakers to vote against the bill.

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The legislation would create a process to earn temporary status as Certified Agricultural Workers for people who have worked at least 180 days in agriculture over the past two years. Spouses and children could also apply for temporary status under the act.

The legislation would create a pathway for workers to get a green card by paying a $1,000 fine and engaging in additional agricultural work depending on how long they have worked in agriculture in the U.S.

The bill would also streamline the process to get an H-2A visa, which allows foreign citizens into the country for temporary agricultural work.

Farmworkers have been particularly vulnerable to the COVID-19 crisis. Their jobs often come with low wages and little access to the health care, which puts them at risk of the virus.

The bill passed the House in 2019 with bipartisan support, with 34 Republicans voting for it at the time.

The last comprehensive immigration bill, sponsored by a group of bipartisan senators, was brought up in 2013. That legislation, which included a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants and tighter border security, passed the Senate with bipartisan support but died in the House. It's been more than three decades since Congress last enacted broad immigration changes.

Reach Rebecca Morin at Twitter @RebeccaMorin_