Reason No. 422 why Congress needs to overhaul our nation’s immigration laws: With some Colorado crops rotting on the vine, two Colorado lawmakers have proposed opening an employment office in Mexico to recruit seasonal workers to help harvest our food.
Actually, it’s a rather novel idea, but there are huge obstacles and concerns. Namely, it’s not the state’s job to hand out seasonal visas to willing workers.
Still, with the federal government shirking its duties, something must be done, as Sen. Abel Tapia says, to cut through the bureaucracy and allow people to work here legally.
Tapia and GOP Rep. Marsha Looper may sponsor legislation next year to open an employment office in Mexico to help streamline the visa and entry process for seasonal guest workers. The problem, of course, is that the federal government is in charge of authorizing foreign worker visas and, barring their approval, it would be difficult for Colorado to proceed on its own.
Congress failed to approve a sensible, comprehensive overhaul to our failed immigration system this year, and likely won’t take it up again until 2009. Its failure could result in a patchwork of laws that vary from state to state.
Both Tapia and Looper are from farming communities, where farmers are experiencing a worker shortage during their peak harvesting season. Many illegal immigrants are bypassing Colorado for fear of being arrested and deported after the state legislature passed tougher enforcement measures last year. The Bush administration this month also announced tougher border security measures and a crackdown on employers who hire undocumented workers. Now, workers are scarce and there is no sign it will get better anytime soon.
Colorado Farm Bureau officials say so many workers are trying to get the federal H-2A temporary visa that a huge bottleneck has occurred, drastically slowing the approval process.
Colorado has been in the forefront of states trying to deal with undocumented workers. Over the past two years, the legislature has passed laws that prohibit state benefits to illegal immigrants and that propose to punish employers who knowingly hire workers without legal documentation.
The problem, of course, is that Colorado and other states are limited in how far they can go. A federal judge in Pennsylvania just ruled last month that Hazelton, Pa., could not punish employers who hired illegal immigrants or landlords who rented to them. In striking down the town’s anti-immigrant ordinances, the judge reminded anyone who doesn’t already know that “immigration is a national issue” and that Congress, not states and localities, has the responsibility to pass and enforce regulations.
Still, Colorado needs seasonal workers and a process for getting them here legally. The Tapia-Looper idea should be explored further. Key questions will need to answered. How will the program’s costs be paid for? And how can the state ensure the workers will return home when their visa expires? A huge number of today’s illegal immigrants are people who overstayed their welcome.
States often act as incubators for ideas and programs that eventually bubble up to the federal level. Maybe this debate, and others like it, can prod Congress back to the drawing board.
