In comments made at the Agriculture Outlook forum last week, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack said the United States needs – comprehensive immigration reform – and called on Congress to act without delay on the issue. However, with Washington lawmakers deadlocked in election year politics, hopes for meaningful legislation being passed in a timely manner are quickly dwindling.
Craig Regelbrugge, co-chair of Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform, says – agriculture has substantially made its case in terms of the need for reform. The National Pork Producers Council, says – to be competitive, the U.S. pork industry needs a viable and stable agricultural workforce. Comprehensive immigration reform legislation should recognize the unique needs of the agricultural sector.

At question is the E-Verify program.  Regelbrugge says – there is no clear path for reform this year. Anything positive that does happen will need to be small, not comprehensive, relevant, and ultimately, bipartisan. However, the U.S. agriculture industry must be prepared for any window of opportunity.