rssFrom the Department of Irony…
Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 1:30 pm
- 7 Comments
On the same day that the Labor Department reported 637,000 new jobless claims in the first week of May — up 32,000 from the week before – a group of Senate Democrats introduced legislation designed to fix the labor shortage facing the nation’s farms.
“Today across the United States, there are not enough agricultural workers to pick, prune, pack or harvest our country’s crops,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the sponsor of the bill, said in a statement. “With an inadequate supply of workers, farmers from Maine to California, and from Washington State to Georgia, have watched their produce rot and their farms lay fallow.”
Feinstein’s proposal would create a special “blue card” status for undocumented immigrants who’ve worked a minimum number of hours in the agriculture sector in the past two years. The bill would also allow blue card recipients to apply for green card status after working an additional stretch on America’s farms — either three years working at least 150 days a year, or five years working at least 100 days a year.
The message is clear: Americans may be out of work, but there are certain jobs we simply won’t do. And while it’s true that many of these jobs are temporary, and therefore not terribly attractive to folks with mortgages and monthly cable bills, not all of them fit that category. Indeed, here’s Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), a co-sponsor of the bill, on the troubles facing his state’s dairy farmers:
This problem is particularly acute for the dairy industry, where the employment needs are year-round and require a significant investment from the farmer in terms of training and development.
Immigration restrictionists might want to acknowledge these dynamics as they continue their fight to barricade the borders and deport the undocumented workers already across the line.
7 Comments
Comment posted May 14, 2009 @ 11:04 am
and kick to the curb all the H-1B visa holders working at TARP WELFARE QUEEN companies for a starters.
Comment posted May 14, 2009 @ 2:12 pm
I hope the blue card comes after the backlog of pending green card requests are cleared.
Comment posted May 15, 2009 @ 2:11 pm
This is just Feinstein's attempt at AMNESTY one piece at a time!
The dirty little secret that she never mentions is that we ALREADY have a temporary guest worker program on the books specifically for agricultural workers!!! Its called an H2A visa, google it for your own verification.
The only reason why farmers are hiring illegal aliens is because they can hire them without fear of prosecution and the illegals are less expensive than legally hiring H2A workers.
It all boils down to GREED and DECEPTION!!
It's time to CLEAN HOUSE IN WASHINGTON, D.C.! Let's vote ALL of the career political HACKS out of office and replace them with everyday hard working, law abiding, tax paying LOYAL American citizens!!!
Comment posted May 15, 2009 @ 2:29 pm
Don't be fooled by Feinstein's incessant attempts at an backdoor AMNESTY!
We don't need illegal aliens to work our farms. We already have H2A visas, which are temporary guest worker visas for agricultural workers.
There is no limit on the number of H2A visas that can be issued on an annual basis. Farmers can get as many H2A workers as they need.
The truth is that farmers can get off cheaper hiring illegal aliens so they don't want to use the legal guest worker program that was created for the benefit of the agricultural industry.
Every year Feinstein trys to slip her SHAMNESTY billy through the cracks. Its time for her to GO!! Its time for real change in WASHINGTON, D.C.
Its time for the PEOPLE to reclaim control of our government and the future of our nation!
VOTE CAREER POLITICAL HACKS OUT … VOTE EVERYDAY LOYAL WORKING CITIZENS IN !!!
Comment posted May 15, 2009 @ 9:11 pm
This is just Feinstein's attempt at AMNESTY one piece at a time!
The dirty little secret that she never mentions is that we ALREADY have a temporary guest worker program on the books specifically for agricultural workers!!! Its called an H2A visa, google it for your own verification.
The only reason why farmers are hiring illegal aliens is because they can hire them without fear of prosecution and the illegals are less expensive than legally hiring H2A workers.
It all boils down to GREED and DECEPTION!!
It's time to CLEAN HOUSE IN WASHINGTON, D.C.! Let's vote ALL of the career political HACKS out of office and replace them with everyday hard working, law abiding, tax paying LOYAL American citizens!!!
Comment posted May 15, 2009 @ 9:29 pm
Don't be fooled by Feinstein's incessant attempts at an backdoor AMNESTY!
We don't need illegal aliens to work our farms. We already have H2A visas, which are temporary guest worker visas for agricultural workers.
There is no limit on the number of H2A visas that can be issued on an annual basis. Farmers can get as many H2A workers as they need.
The truth is that farmers can get off cheaper hiring illegal aliens so they don't want to use the legal guest worker program that was created for the benefit of the agricultural industry.
Every year Feinstein trys to slip her SHAMNESTY bill through the cracks. Its time for her to GO!! Its time for real change in WASHINGTON, D.C. – TIME TO CLEAN OUR POLITICAL HOUSE.
Its time for the PEOPLE to reclaim control of our government and the future of our nation!
VOTE CAREER POLITICAL HACKS OUT … VOTE EVERYDAY LOYAL WORKING CITIZENS IN !!!
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