Action Alert
(October 4, 1999)
Senator Bob Graham may introduce foreign farmworker bill this week
According to Florida news reports, Senator Bob Graham (D-FL) may introduce legislation as early as this week to swell the entry of cheap foreign farm labor into the United States and allow half a million illegal aliens currently in the country to work legally. Senator Graham may try to attach his proposal to budget legislation that Congress must pass before the end of October.
Tell Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) and Senator Graham we do not need a new agricultural guestworker program and another illegal alien amnesty because:
- An amnesty encourages and rewards illegal immigration. An amnesty forgives illegal aliens for breaking our laws and rewards them with legal status. This irrational policy encourages more illegal immigration. According to newspaper reports, Senator Graham's proposal could allow more than half a million illegal aliens to work in the United States legally.
- A new foreign farmworker program will hurt American farmworkers. Another massive increase of cheap foreign labor into the United States will further depress wages and worsen working conditions for America's farm workers.
- There is no farm labor shortage. A decade's worth of government and academic research has shown that there is a surplus of agricultural workers in the United States, not a shortage as guestworker proponents claim.
We will update you when more information is available so you can direct your comments to the key decision-makers as the situation develops. Until then, make sure Senators Lott and Graham know of your opposition to this misguided plan. As Senate Majority Leader, Senator Lott largely determines the Senate agenda. Senator Graham also needs to know his plan will hurt American workers and increase illegal immigration.
FAIR, 10/99.
