HIRE Act Will Empower U.S. Farms and Small Businesses
Congress is long overdue to pass real reforms to our legal immigration system.
Arlington, VA – Americans for Prosperity and The LIBRE Initiative applaud a bipartisan group of 16 lawmakers for introducing the HIRE Act, a bill that reduces red tape and brings transparency to the H-2A and H-2B visa petitioning process. These programs facilitate growth for countless small and rural businesses, enabling them to better serve the needs of their communities.
Daniel Garza, president of The LIBRE Initiative, and Sam Peak, Senior Policy Analyst for Americans for Prosperity, released the following statement:
“Due to burdensome and excessive regulations, family-owned farms and small businesses across America have difficulty hiring the workers they need. The reforms outlined in the HIRE Act will bring transparency and simplicity to the H-2A and H-2B work visa programs, benefitting U.S. businesses, employees, and consumers alike,” said Daniel Garza.
“With over 9 million job vacancies in the U.S., seasonal businesses are struggling the most to find enough workers. If passed, the HIRE Act would streamline the H-2A and H-2B visa programs, ensuring that our immigration system better serves the needs of working Americans,” said Sam Peak.
The HIRE Act seeks to enact the following reforms:
- Allows employers to advertise to Americans that their seasonal job opening is intended to last more than 1 year.
- Extends H-2 Labor Department certifications from 1 year to 3 years if workers are returning to an employer who previously hired them. This reform spares employers from having to re-submit costly paperwork.
- Permanently authorizes the State Department to waive in-person interview requirements for returning H-2 workers when they apply to renew their status.
Members who have signed onto the HIRE Act include Rep. Tony Gonzalez (R-TX), Rep. Henry Gonzalez (D-TX), Reps. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), John Duarte (R-CA), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Darren Soto (D-FL), Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), Chris Pappas (D-NH), James Moylan (R-Guam), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), and Stephanie Bice (R-OK).
I need to read this bill. But at first glance, it looks like a first step towards better handling of H-2 visas which has been a dream of mine for decades!
WHICH FOREIGN NATIONALS
CAN WORK IN THE USA?
Some foreign nationals claim
that they have been refused work in the USA
because they are not citizens.
Is this discrimination against
people who are citizens of other countries?
This basic issue will have to be addressed:
Do UNREGISTERED foreign nationals
have a right to work in the USA?
Existing law says NO.
For example, if a DACA recipient loses that status,
then the work-permit is canceled.
The laws against employing foreign nationals
who are living in the USA without any official permission
cannot be changed by judges.
However, LAWMAKERS could change such laws.
Why would the United States change its laws
prohibiting unregistered foreign nationals
from holding jobs in the USA?
Citizens of other countries
should be required to REGISTER themselves
with the U.S. government in order to work.
Foreign nationals living in the USA under WORK VISAS
already have official permission
to live and work in the USA.
And if they lose their American jobs,
they are subject to deportation
if they do not quickly find new employment.
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REGISTERED FOREIGN NATIONAL:
A NEW IMMIGRATION STATUS.
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If workers have no authorized employment,
they should return to the countries
where they hold citizenship.
In their homelands, because they are citizens,
they always have a right to seek employment.
Millions of other non-citizens are already registered:
(1) foreigners with many forms of visas,
(2) foreign nationals with Green Cards,
(3) Temporary Protected Status (TPS),
(4) pending asylum claims,
(5) humanitarian parole, &
(6) Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA)
all have official permission to work in the USA.
About ten million OTHER foreigners
have NO permission to live or work in the USA.
Most of them have found ways to support themselves
—often by working in the underground economy.
Others have jobs in the legitimate economy,
but they used FALSE DOCUMENTS to get those jobs.
About half of all unregistered foreign nationals
might be able to stay in the USA
if and when registration is opened for them.
The newest variation is FOREIGN CHILDREN
working in the USA.
This is a violation of both kinds of laws:
(1) laws against FOREIGNERS working in America,
(2) laws against CHILDREN holding jobs in the USA.
Labor laws should be enforced at all levels:
local, state, & federal.
Such laws can be changed,
but if they still make sense,
they should be enforced.
When labor laws are carefully enforced,
then fewer foreign nationals
will cross the U.S. border without permission.
With no way to ‘make a living’ in the USA,
foreign nationals will STAY HOME.