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 he adds that it cannot be decoupled from addressing the industry’s workforce concerns.
An estimated 70% of hired farm workers lack proper authorization to work in the U.S. and Conner says the only guest worker program available, the H2A program 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.
