DAYTONA BEACH NEWS-JOURNAL

January 20, 2007

Bill may allay fears of illegal workers

By BRITTNEY BOOTH
Staff Writer

PIERSON -- She left behind her family, her country and her legitimacy to pursue a future in the United States.

Ten years later, the life Horifoila found working in the fern fields of Seville and Crescent City surpasses what she left behind in her native Michocan, Mexico.

"In Mexico there is not anything," the 30-year-old -- who would not give her last name -- said in Spanish.

But because she is here illegally, her life is full of fear. Even driving her daughter to school is a risk.

And while Americans remain deeply divided about what to do with Horifoila and the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S, advocates for immigrants and industries that rely on their labor hope the U.S Congress will act on immigration reform this year.

Just a few weeks after the Democratic Party assumed control of Congress, a decade-old proposal to legalize agricultural workers has been revived in the Senate.

Florida 's Republican Sen. Mel Martinez was one of eight sponsors of the Agricultural Jobs, Opportunity, Benefits and Security Act of 2007, referred to as AgJOBS. The bill would grant legal status to 1.5 million agricultural workers in this country illegally -- including many that work in Volusia County's fern and citrus fields -- and modify the current guest worker program.

Currently, workers in the country illegally have little chance to legitimize their residency and work status. The number of workers allowed in the country each year is dwarfed by the numbers who actually cross the nation's borders and accept jobs few Americans will take.

Sponsors of the proposed Senate bill say it would support the agricultural industry's need for workers and, by granting legal residency, would empower workers to exercise legal protections against exploitation.

Now in a Senate committee, the bill would permit undocumented immigrants with no felony convictions to apply for a "blue card" granting temporary legal status for themselves and their families if they have worked in agriculture at least 150 days during the past two years. The program would last for five years but workers who meet a series of requirements could apply for permanent residency. Illegal immigrants would have to pay a $500 fine and continue to work in agriculture for a certain period, but could hold other non-agricultural jobs.

The quick introduction of the bill this year shows local immigrant advocates the new Congress is serious about reform.

"We feel reasonably good about our chancing of having sufficient votes to pass," said Greg Schell, a Lake Worth attorney for the Migrant Farmworker Justice Project. "It will offer legalization for the majority of farm workers in the country."

Steve Crump, whose family runs Vo-LaSalle Farm in DeLeon Springs, said AgJOBS might help farms find labor sources. Few Americans seek work in the citrus fields, and those who do often have drug or alcohol problems, have served jail time or are not reliable workers, he said.

"All my employees are naturalized U.S. citizens, but I don't have anybody to replace these people. I don't have any new applicants," he said. "There's always a shortage of harvest labor."

He favors the guest worker program over granting residency to those here illegally.

But John James, the leader of the Northeast Central Florida Chapter of the Minutemen said the agriculture industry would not need to depend on immigrant labor if it paid fair wages. He said the country should deport all illegal immigrants for breaking the nation's laws.

"Illegals are getting victimized. It's not fair to us and it's not fair to them," he said.

Other immigrant advocates seek broader reform beyond the agricultural industry.

"There's a lot of people who have lived here for years paying taxes; they have the right to live in peace with tranquility. Now, without documents, they walk around in fear," said Marcos Crisanto, the coordinator of the Florida Farmworkers Association 's Pierson office.

The association plans to hold meetings to educate the local workers and lobby Congress to pass immigration reform through letters, faxes and phone calls. If necessary, they plan to mobilize a May 1 march similar to last year's immigration protests, he said.

David Vedder, a Daytona Beach-based immigration attorney, said a simple fix to the immigration crises would entail repealing a 1996 law requiring illegal immigrants in the U.S. six months or more to return home and wait three years before applying for a visa -- even if they meet all other requirements and have sponsoring family members or employers.

Before, illegal immigrants could return home and apply for a green card at the U.S. Embassy. The legislation took away "historical avenues that had been out there to regularize their status," Vedder said.

He also believes increasing the number of visas issued for the most common labor categories -- such as professional and skilled workers -- would help more people immigrate legally.