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RMM Statement on Immigration Reform
January 20, 2004

Many people have asked us to comment on the recent immigration reform proposal put forth by President Bush. The proposal has produced a variety of responses throughout the country, as well as a great deal of confusion for many people trying to make sense of its implications. Invariably, farmworker and immigrant rights organizations have come out in strong opposition to the proposal. Likewise, Rural and Migrant Ministry is deeply concerned about President Bush’s proposed changes to immigration policy.

Under the new proposal, Congress would create a new temporary foreign worker program, or expanded guestworker program. The program would offer foreign workers and undocumented workers currently living in the United States the opportunity to obtain a renewable three-year work visa, to be granted with the cooperation of a willing employer participating in the guestworker program. The workers would be expected to return to their country of origin when their work visas expire. There are several major problems with this proposal:

• The temporary work visa will essentially be controlled by the employer. A worker’s ability to remain in the U.S. will depend upon the approval of the employer. Therefore, a worker risks deportation by challenging unfair or illegal conditions at work. Workers who speak up may also risk being blacklisted.
• Labor rights for temporary workers have historically been weaker than those afforded to workers in the domestic labor force. The historic “Bracero” programs, as well as current guestworker programs, are notorious for failing to protect workers from abuse and exploitation. The new proposal would afford even less protections to workers.
• This proposal does not protect from the depression of wage levels and other working conditions. Employers will have greater access to a virtually endless docile workforce, a pool of workers who are willing to work for less and with fewer benefits. As a result, all workers—including U.S. citizens and legal immigrants—will experience a loss of bargaining power in the workplace.
• Although the guestworker visas are temporary, many of the jobs to be filled are year-round and permanent. Under the guestworker program, workers would only be allowed to renew their temporary visa indefinitely, but would not be offered permanent residency or a path to citizenship. There is no meaningful access to permanent visas or a path to citizenship for those working, paying taxes, and raising their families in the US.
• By introducing this new proposal, President Bush has effectively eliminated debate around other important pieces of legislation impacting immigrants and farmworkers. Legislators should resume consideration of the widely supported AgJOBS Bill (S 1645, HR 3142), a compromise bill between farmworker advocates and agribusiness, and the DREAM Act (S 1545, HR 1684), which would grant undocumented students the opportunity to earn permanent residency status and a path to citizenship.

Most importantly, this proposal defies the values we hold to be most basic and true in this country. It seeks to create an underclass of workers with no political or economic voice, with reduced protections under the law. “Legal status” means nothing if it does not guarantee equality. As Bruce Goldstein from the Farmworker Justice Fund points out, slavery was once a “legal status” in this country. We cannot allow Congress to implement such a morally bankrupt immigration policy.

We recommend visiting the Immigrant Rights page of American Friends Service Committee’s website, where you will find links to responses from many different organizations concerned with immigrant rights, at www.afsc.org/immigrants-rights/default.htm.