Legislation for Farm Labor Reform did not move past the finish line last month in Congress, meaning migrant farm workers still have no path to legal status in the U. S.. Harvest Public Media reports that this means immigration reform is unlikely to come up in the new Congress. The bill would have established a years-long path to legal status for some migrant guest workers, as well as adding some longer term visas. In the end, the legislation failed to be attached to an appropriations package. Daniel Costa, with the Economic Policy Institute, says with the new Republican-led House, it’s unlikely to be revisited any time soon.
The proposed legislation would have frozen wages for migrant workers for one year and capped increases for floor and ceiling wage rates. Despite that, many worker advocacy groups supported the bill.
