As Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation in the Department of Agriculture under President Donald Trump, I saw firsthand the need for a legislative solution that addresses the devastating labor shortage that is hurting American farmers and the need for border security to stop weapons, drugs, contraband and potentially dangerous people from entering our country.
After decades of political infighting, we finally have a proposed solution in the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which has passed the House of Representatives twice.
Thanks to the bipartisan collaboration between U.S. Sens. Mike Crapo and Michael Bennet, this legislation is now before the Senate and ready for a vote. The security of our border, the economic livelihoods of farmers, and our ability to maintain a domestic food supply is at stake, and the Senate cannot waste another day to act.
Under FWMA, agricultural producers will have the workers they need — while also closing legal loopholes and removing the magnets, like illegal employment, which drive illegal immigration. The legislation would expand access to our current H-2A farm guest-worker visa program, including to sectors that need workers year-round, like dairy. Dairy cows need farm workers 365 days a year to feed and milk them.
First, this would be a great step toward ending illegal immigration in an entire sector of the economy. The workforce shortage in agriculture has been a huge draw for illegal immigrants. If we can ensure hiring...
One repeated detail in the stories stood out: fictional encounters often featured people addressing Trump as “sir” and asking for help. In 2016, a Washington correspondent for the Toronto Star beg...