Immigration Reform - Possibilities in 2018 wafla January 18, 2018 Labor Conference - Wenatchee, WA 1
H-2A Review 2
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250,000 H-2A Use Nationwide 2005-2017 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Positions certified by DOL Visas issued by DOS 4
Since 2005 H-2A Use Nationwide 2005-2017 # of H-2A positions certified by DOL = up 314% to 200,000 # of visas issued by DOS = up 423% to 167,000 Average # of positions per application = up 179% to 20 # of applications approved by DOL = up 48% to 9,800* *may be more than one employer per application 5
20,000 H-2A Use in Washington 2010-2017 18,000 16,000 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 6
250000 200000 150000 100000 50000 0 H-2A Use in Washington vs. Nationwide 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Nationwide Washington 20,000 18,000 16,000 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000-7
H-2A Use in Washington In 2009, Washington wasn t even in top 15 states in H-2A use fewer than 2,000 H-2A positions By 2010, Washington is #8 3,000 H-2A positions By 2014, Washington ranked #4 9,100 H-2A positions In 2017, Washington ranked #4 for fourth consecutive year 18,500 H-2A positions Since 2010 H-2A use in Washington is up 460% Nationwide up 153% during that time 8
Top 10 States for H-2A in 2017 Florida 25,000 Georgia 23,500 North Carolina 21,000 Washington 18,500 California 15,000 Louisiana 9,000 Kentucky 7,500 New York 7,000 Michigan 6,500 Arizona 6,000 9
Trump Administration 10
Trump Administration Cabinet with role in Immigration and Guest Worker Programs -- Department of Labor Andrew Andy Puzder Alex Acosta CEO, CKE Restaurants (Hardee s and Carl s Jr.) Law School Dean, US Attorney (FL), Ass t Attorney General DOJ 11
Trump Administration Cabinet with role in Immigration and Guest Worker Programs -- Department of Homeland Security John Kelly General, USMC (retired) Kirstjen Nielsen White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Chief of Staff at DHS 12
Trump Administration Cabinet with role in Immigration and Guest Worker Programs Attorney General Jefferson Jeff Sessions U.S. Senator Alabama Secretary of State Rex Tillerson CEO, ExxonMobil (retired) 13
Congress 14
Composition of 115 th Congress Senate 51 Republicans Leader McConnell (KY) 49 Democrats (2 Independent) Minority Leader Schumer (NY) **51 votes prevail only rarely often need 60 votes 15
Composition of 115 th Congress - House of Representatives 239 Republicans 193 Democrats 3 vacancies as of Jan 2018 Speaker Ryan (WI) Minority Leader Pelosi (CA) **218 votes to prevail 16
Reform Efforts Executive Branch Agencies and Congress 17
Executive Branch Regulatory Reform 18
History of Department of Labor s H-2A Regulations 1987 - Original H-2A Regulations Remained largely unchanged for 20 years 2008 Regulations updated in Bush Administration Streamlined bureaucracy Increased penalties In effect for two seasons 2010 Regulations changed in Obama Administration Basically returned to 1987-era regulations Revived bureaucratic approach to program 2018?? 19
Ideas for Regulatory Reform The Government Must Recognize the Realities of Agriculture in 2018 Reduce unnecessary bureaucracy duplicative filings at SWA and DOL Should not have to start application from scratch every year Improve application processing / timing Increase flexibility for employers and workers Amendments to applications and extensions Expedite processing of returning workers Broaden participation by agriculture Reform cost structure 20
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Legislative Branch Legislation 22
House Legislation New H-2C Temporary Worker Program for Agriculture H.R. 4092( Agriculture Guestworker Act or AG Act ) Introduced by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (VA) Reported from Judiciary Committee in October 2017 Overview Creates new H-2C Program to replace H-2A 450,000 visas annually + escalator Program administered by USDA 36 month and 18 month visa term Broadens definition of agriculture to allow wider participation Reforms housing and wage requirements Streamlined application process Current undocumented workforce eligible for H-2C, but must obtain visa abroad 23
Enter DACA Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Last fall President said the program will end in March directed Congress to craft a legislative solution providing legal status for the DACA recipients President says legislation dealing with DACA should also include border security, interior enforcement and some changes to green card system (chain migration) and the diversity visa lottery 24
DACA Legislation: HOUSE Securing America s Future Act (H.R. 4760) reflects President s priorities introduced by Rep. Goodlatte and Rep. McCaul Legal status for those brought to the U.S. as children Border Security Interior Security/Enforcement E-verify End Diversity Visa Lottery End Chain Migration Goodlatte s AG Act / H-2C program 25
DACA Legislation: SENATE White House meeting with Senators last week about DACA legislation 26
Outlook for H-2C Program as part of DACA? DACA fix was going to part of Government spending bill that has to be passed by Friday to avoid government shut down As of now, not likely to be in funding bill Likely another short-term funding bill for a month DACA fix had to be passed by first week of March when President said the current DACA program would end Not likely now Federal judge says DACA program can continue as-is Trump administration has appealed and asked for Supreme Court to intervene 27
Outlook for H-2C Program as part of DACA? So, will Congress act if there is no threat of impending doom? Not clear how Senate feels about ag immigration issues on DACA bill Ag not unified in its view of Goodlatte s Ag Act / H-2C program 28
Review Avenues for Ag guestworker reform Executive Branch agencies may reform H-2A regulations Congress may pass H-2C legislation as part of DACA Congress may tackle comprehensive immigration reform after DACA 29
Questions? LEON R. SEQUEIRA LSEQUEIRA@LRS-LAW.COM (202) 255-9023 30