Immigration
bill envisions new farm worker program [Associated Press]
Sweeping
immigration legislation taking shape in the Senate will aim to overhaul the
nation's agriculture worker program to create a steady supply of labor for
farmers and growers, who rely more than any other industry on workers who have
come to the country illegally. Farm workers already here would get a speedier
path to legal status than other immigrants in the country illegally, and a
likely new visa program would make it easier for foreign workers to come to the
U.S. Policymakers aim to install such workers in place of the half or more of
the nation's farm labor workforce estimated to be in the country illegally.
Negotiators have been working to finalize an agreement in time for the measure
to be included in bipartisan legislation expected to be released next week, but
disagreements on wages and numbers of visas are proving tough to solve.
House
immigration bill is said to offer 3 paths [New York Times]
In
the shadow of a bipartisan Senate group preparing to roll out broad immigration
legislation next week, shortly after Congress returns from its holiday break, a
bipartisan group of eight House members is readying its own bill. In contrast
to the Senate plan — which would provide one clear, if difficult, path to
citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country — the
House legislation will most likely offer three distinct paths to legal status.
Young immigrants in the country without legal papers, who often call themselves
“Dreamers,” and low-skilled agricultural workers would qualify for an expedited
road to legal status, people familiar with the negotiations said. The Dreamers
should not be punished for being brought illegally to the country by their
parents, House aides said, and the members agreed that the agricultural workers
perform crucial work for the economy.
Editorial: A shockingly
sensible immigration plan [Los Angeles Times]
The
recent agreement between business and labor leaders on how to provide visas for
nonagricultural workers in such industries as construction, hotels and
restaurants is a surprising and welcome development. Such a breakthrough
agreement would have been unthinkable a year ago, when the debate over
comprehensive immigration reform was mired in anger and overheated preelection
rhetoric….Frankly, the plan reflects a shockingly sensible set of compromises,
and we hope a similar burst of reasonableness will allow an agreement to be
reached between agricultural growers and labor that would address the industry's
reliance on undocumented farmhands….Meeting the needs of growers while
protecting the rights of farmworkers won't be easy, and the solution must be
rooted in the realities of the labor market. But there is already a good
blueprint to work from. The Agriculture Job Opportunities, Benefits and
Security Act, first introduced in 2007, would allow farmworkers who are already
here to legalize their status if they pay a fine and continue to work in the
fields for at least three years, and it offers a sensible outline for
overhauling the H-2A visa program to ensure that foreign workers don't drive
down wages for American workers who are employed on farms.
Engineers
suggest west-of-Hanford route for high-speed trains [Fresno Bee]
A
route skirting Hanford's western edge through Kings County is now the option
recommended by engineers for a high-speed train route between Fresno and
Bakersfield. The California High-Speed Rail Authority announced the
recommendation Tuesday….In late 2011, the rail authority proposed a route that
carried the tracks east of Hanford, drawing the ire of farmers and homeowners
whose property would be displaced. In reaction to the uproar -- and at the
insistence of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency -- the authority began to reconsider other options, including
bypassing Hanford to the west….Mark McLoughlin, the authority's deputy director
of environmental planning, said in a memo to the agency's board that the
preferred option creates fewer environmental effects on natural resources,
farmland, businesses and homes than other alternatives that have been studied.
Oakdale
Irrigation District OKs water sale for West Side farmers [Modesto Bee]
The
Oakdale Irrigation District board voted Tuesday to sell water to help West Side
farmers for one year and to permanently serve about 7,200 acres just east of
its boundary. The 5-0 votes came with no objections from the audience.…The
district will sell 40,000 acre-feet of its Stanislaus River water to the San
Luis & Delta Mendota Water Authority, made up of numerous irrigation
districts from the Tracy area to Fresno County, and the California Department
of Water Resources. The water, combined with an equal amount approved by the
South San Joaquin Irrigation District board, will help several West Side
districts deal with a sharp cutback in federal deliveries because of drought
and fish protections.
IID
to consider water storage [Imperial Valley Press]
The
Imperial Irrigation District is considering the development of water storage
facilities within its service area as a means to ensure sufficient water
supplies in the midst of water shortages on the Colorado River.…The IID’s
annual entitlement from the Colorado River is capped at 3.1 million acre-feet
per year. Any water that the district uses in excess of this cap has to be paid
back. Water that the district does not use flows to junior water right holders
such as the Coachellla Valley Water District and Metropolitan Water District.
The IID does not currently have the means to store water.
Ag
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