After
much work, an important step toward revamping America’s failed immigration
system and securing our porous border has been achieved. A strong and focused policy
proposal for border security and legal workforce reform was adopted by the
National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) at its annual
meeting in Des Moines, Iowa.
As
chairman of NASDA's Border Security and Immigration Reform Task Force, I have
worked closely with my fellow state commissioners, secretaries and directors of
agriculture from all over the country to put forth a plan Congress can work
with to address serious issues in providing a documented and reliable workforce
for agriculture producers while addressing the needs of those producers being
threatened on their land by transnational criminal organizations.
More
than a year ago, I authored a proposal and we have had numerous fruitful
debates and discussions on what needs to be done. The give and take in the
process resulted in a proposal that will not only sustain our domestic food
supply, but also will help America stay competitive in the global marketplace
by employing a legal, reliable workforce.
A
point I pushed is that granting amnesty to workers who have entered the United
States illegally is not the solution. In contrast, our proposal will continue
to support our nation’s longstanding pathway to legal citizenship only for
those who have chosen to follow the rules.
Congress
has failed our economy by allowing the issue of legal workforce reform to be
caught up in and delayed by a debate over citizenship. Citizenship is a
privilege that is afforded to individuals who follow the rules of a long-defined
process. If those individuals are workers who have accessed this country
legally, then we welcome their participation in that process. But hear me
clearly: Documenting the workforce needed by our businesses has nothing to do
with citizenship, and everything to do with protecting our economy.
That’s
why our plan also provides the workforce needed to maintain our status as a
world leader in agricultural production. It calls for more thorough worker
background checks and ongoing identification monitoring while also levying
harsher penalties for hiring violations and illegal entry. Our porous border
with Mexico has exacerbated the problem of illegal immigration and workforce
violations for far too long. Border security can be greatly expedited by legal
workforce reform and done in a manner that strengthens border security. Local
law enforcement resources are consumed by the violent drug cartels and illegal
entries for jobs, and a verifiable documentation system for workers our economy
demands will help.
While
the ongoing failure of our federal government to secure our border has been a
point of frustration for me and many others, it’s validating and reassuring to
know immigration reform is a matter all 50 states take seriously. Now with a
unified voice, we can urge Congress to take action to implement these critical
reforms.
To
read the approved immigration reform plan, go here.
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