Senate Bill Would Protect Farmworkers

A bill introduced in the Senate last week would give farmworkers a path to legal status and citizenship.  California Senators, Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, introduced the legislation last week that would shield farmworkers who are in the country illegally from deportation and create a path to citizenship, according to the L.A. Times.

Feinstein says “farm labor is performed almost exclusively by undocumented immigrants,” adding there aren’t enough workers in her state.

The bill is also backed by senators from Colorado, Vermont and Hawaii, but there's been no broad talk in Congress of reforming immigration laws this year.  The legislation would allow undocumented farmworkers who have worked in agriculture for at least 100 days in each of the previous two years to earn a “blue card," which would allow them to work legally.  They would eventually be eligible for a green card or legal permanent residency, which opens the door to earning citizenship.

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