Examining the Growth in Seasonal Agricultural H-2A Labor (original) (raw)
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Growing Modern American Guestworkers: The Increasing Supply of Temporary H-2A Agricultural Workers*
2011
The U.S. temporary work program (TWP) for lower skilled jobs, the American nonimmigrant H-2 visa, has been admitting foreign workers for agricultural j obs for the past half century. While US policy is widely seen as having failed to control illega l entry, employer use of the H-2A program has, nevertheless, substantially increa sed over the past fifteen years. I describe the growth of the H-2A workforce since the 1990s w ith available data and benchmark it against trends in flows of migrants from Mex ico. Estimates are also generated for state-level H-2A workforces from 2006 t o 2009. As for why the H-2A has grown, this paper dismisses the policy or regulatory facil itation as the primary cause. And it would be premature to see the growth of the H-2A as a substitute for decreasing unauthorized migration, although some of the analysis suggests t hat possibility. In the same vein, it seems unlikely that the H-2A program is prima rily responding to increasing shortages of domestic agr...
2011
The U.S. temporary work program (TWP) for lower skilled jobs, the American nonimmigrant H-2 visa, has been admitting foreign workers for agricultural j obs for the past half century. While US policy is widely seen as having failed to control illega l entry, employer use of the H-2A program has, nevertheless, substantially increa sed over the past fifteen years. I describe the growth of the H-2A workforce since the 1990s w ith available data and benchmark it against trends in flows of migrants from Mex ico. Estimates are also generated for state-level H-2A workforces from 2006 t o 2 09. As for why the H-2A has grown, this paper dismisses the policy or regulatory facil itation as the primary cause. And it would be premature to see the growth of the H-2A as a substitute for decreasing unauthorized migration, although some of the analysis suggests t hat possibility. In the same vein, it seems unlikely that the H-2A program is prima rily responding to increasing shortages of domestic agr...
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service, 2001
Proposals to revise U.S. immigration policy on agricultural guest workers are coming from various perspectives, and several major bills have already been introduced in the 107 th Congress. Though bills were debated but not enacted in recent Congresses, now reform appears to have more momentum. President George Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox established a Cabinet-level immigration working group that is expected to offer a guest worker program as part of its package. Although the current mechanism for bringing in agricultural guest workers, the H-2A nonimmigrant visa, has experienced a modest surge in recent years, the 28,560 H-2A nonimmigrants admitted in 1999 comprise only a tiny fraction of the 1.2 million farm workers in the United States. While 61% of farm workers in the United States worked in fruit, nut, or vegetable production, a disproportionate number of H-2A workers-42%-worked in tobacco cultivation. States in the southeastern United States account for more than half of all H-2A job certifications. Agricultural employers argue that the H-2A visa in its current form is insufficiently flexible, entails burdensome regulations, and poses potential litigation expenses for employers. They point out that the growing cycle is the actual deadline and that workers must be available when the crops are ready or food costs will rise. Proponents of this view support extensive changes that they believe would increase the speed with which employers could hire foreign workers and reduce the government's ability to delay or block such employment. Proponents of an expanded program express concern that the large number of illegal aliens in agriculture, in combination with stepped up Immigration and Naturalization Service enforcement, is resulting in an unstable workforce and a potential labor shortage. Opponents of revising the H-2A visa requirements contend that there is a surplus of U.S. farm workers and that a sufficient number of seasonal agricultural workers would continue to be available in the unlikely event that illegal immigration is significantly curbed. While many agree that the H-2A process has excessive administrative paperwork, opponents also argue that much of the streamlining proposals, such as further reductions in filing deadlines and relaxation of employment certification procedures, would weaken protections for domestic workers and make foreign workers more vulnerable to exploitation. They warn that an expansion of the H-2A visa would suppress wages of domestic workers and exacerbate "unfair" working conditions for all workers. Some of the opponents as well as supporters of expanding the H-2A visa agree that unauthorized farm workers who meet certain conditions should be allowed to legalize their immigration status. While some see a legalization provision as an essential part of the legislation, others view it as a deal breaker. Any "amnesty" for illegal migrants, they maintain, only fosters further flows of illegal aliens. Another option-rather than legalizing the current unauthorized work force-would establish ground rules for guest workers employed in agriculture for a specified period of time over several years to adjust in the future to legal permanent residence.
Immigration of Agricultural Guest Workers: Policy, Trends, and Legislative Issues
2003
Several major proposals to revise U.S. immigration policy on agricultural guest workers were introduced in the 107 th Congress. Though prior Congresses had debated but not enacted such bills, there appeared to be more momentum in 2001. President George Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox established a Cabinetlevel immigration working group that was expected to offer a guest worker program as part of its package. The September 11 terrorist attacks, however, shifted the immigration policy focus, and the 107 th Congress did not act on guest worker bills. Although the current mechanism for bringing in agricultural guest workers, the H-2A nonimmigrant visa, has experienced a modest surge in recent years, the 28,560 H-2A nonimmigrants admitted in 1999 comprise only a tiny fraction of the 1.2 million farm workers in the United States. While 61% of farm workers in the United States worked in fruit, nut, or vegetable production, a disproportionate number of H-2A workers-42%-worked in tobacco cultivation. States in the southeastern United States account for more than half of all H-2A job certifications. Agricultural employers argue that the H-2A visa in its current form is insufficiently flexible, entails burdensome regulations, and poses potential litigation expenses for employers. They point out that the growing cycle is the actual deadline and that workers must be available when the crops are ready or food costs will rise. Proponents of this view support extensive changes that they believe would increase the speed by which employers could hire foreign workers and reduce the government's ability to delay or block employment. Proponents of an expanded program express concern that the large number of illegal aliens in agriculture, in combination with stepped up enforcement of immigration laws, is resulting in an unstable workforce and a potential labor shortage. Opponents of revising the H-2A visa requirements contend that there is a surplus of U.S. farm workers and that a sufficient number of seasonal agricultural workers would continue to be available even if illegal migration abates. While many agree that the H-2A process has excessive administrative paperwork, opponents also argue that much of the streamlining proposals, such as further reductions in filing deadlines and relaxation of employment certification procedures, would weaken protections for domestic workers and make foreign workers more vulnerable to exploitation. They warn that an expansion of the H-2A visa would suppress wages of domestic workers and exacerbate "unfair" working conditions for all workers. Some of the opponents as well as supporters of expanding the H-2A visa agree that unauthorized farm workers who meet certain conditions should be allowed to legalize their immigration status. While some see a legalization provision as an essential part of the legislation, others view it as a deal breaker. Any "amnesty" for illegal migrants, they maintain, only fosters further flows of illegal aliens. Another option-rather than legalizing the current unauthorized work force-would establish ground rules for guest workers employed in agriculture for a specified period of time over several years to adjust in the future to legal permanent residence.
Agricultural Employment Patterns of Immigrant Workers in the United States
2010
Despite of the important role international migration fills in the United States’ labor-intensive agricultural sector, few studies have addressed the individual characteristics and circumstances surrounding entry and exit by farm laborers. With increasing public attention on international migrant labor, policymakers have a need to understand the labor market patterns of these workers if they are to formulate appropriate immigration reforms, including temporary worker programs geared towards agriculture. In this analysis, we model the likelihood of entering agricultural employment by migrants to the United States. Using data from the Mexican Migration Project we find that migrants with higher levels of education and a greater command of English are less likely to work as agricultural laborers. Those that do enter agricultural occupation stay in the United States for shorter periods of time per trip than those who enter non-agricultural occupation. In future analysis we will attempt t...
What Firms Hire H-2A Workers? Evidence from the US Ornamental Horticulture Industry
HortScience
The ornamental horticulture industry relies on workers to do myriad tasks, such as pruning, applying fertilizers, scouting, spraying pesticides, planting, harvesting, packing, and weeding. As a result of the perishable nature of horticultural goods, a skilled and accessible labor supply is imperative for continued industry growth and stability. The decreasing number of workers, followed by increasing wage rates, could be alarming for the economic well-being of the ornamental horticulture industry, which has already experienced a downward trend in revenue and profits. Combining 2014 and 2019 National Green Industry Survey data, this study investigates factors affecting ornamental growers’ decisions on hiring H-2A workers. Growers’ decisions are largely affected by their home state’s enforcement of the 287(g) program and the observed industry employment and total wage payment. Growers are more likely to participate in an H-2A workers program if their home state implemented the restric...
International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 2017
Agricultural employers increasingly are turning to the foreign guest worker program, known as H-2A, as a means to secure a legal workforce. This paper outlines the procedural aspects and costs of recruiting and hiring H-2A workers. Cost data is from a 2014 survey of citrus harvesters and defines pre-employment costs as filing fees, advertising, surety bonds, travel, and housing. The pre-employment costs associated with guest workers are estimated to be nearly $ 2,000 per worker. The survey was motivated by the ‘60-minute rule’ imposed by the U.S. Department of Labor prior to the 2012-13 citrus harvesting season. Cost data were collected across two crop season, 2012-13 and 2013-14, to analyze the cost implications of the rule. We found that the 60-minute rule significantly increased filing fees. These fees, however, represent a very small share of total costs and overall pre-employment costs associated with the H-2A program did not significantly change.
Yale Law & Policy Review, 1982
There is little quarrel with the premise that the immigration laws should not foster a dependency on foreign labor. That, however, is not the issue before us. Rather, our concern is with the role to be played by the H-2 program in assimilating temporary foreign workers when the supply of domestic labor is found to be inadequate. The efficacy of such a system depends upon its ability to employ these workers in a fair, efficient, and orderly manner. Otherwise, as history indicates, the disequilibrium between the supply and demand of available workers will result in the creation of a class of undocumented persons who are beyond the protection of our laws. In this regard, former Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Leonel Castillo, eloquently characterized the situation in stating that the "U.S. is experiencing the world's largest temporary worker program, larger than the guest worker programs of France, Holland and Germany. Only ours is unregulated . . . resulti...