Friend --

I wanted to start this email by thanking you for your financial support ahead of Tuesday's FEC fundraising deadline. Based on our initial count, it looks like we have met and possibly even surpassed our goal. That's huge, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your support -- especially with everything we are facing.

I also wanted to take a moment to shine a light on an important issue that has arisen in recent weeks.

A lot of my colleagues in Washington don't like to acknowledge this, but about half of all farmworkers in this country are undocumented immigrants. That includes 60% of all farmworkers in California -- a huge portion of whom live and work right here in my Central Valley district.

Undocumented farm workers are considered "essential" workers during the COVID-19 crisis, they pay taxes, but they were left out of the stimulus bill that Congress passed last week.

Right now, we’re depending on farmworkers to keep the shelves in our supermarkets full. They are putting themselves at risk to keep us fed and we need to take care of them.

Will you sign my urgent petition calling on Congress to include assistance to farmworkers in any upcoming relief legislation in Congress?

Here's the problem: Due to COVID-19, farmworkers are facing huge economic expenses. With schools closed but work proceeding, the sudden need for childcare has emerged. Carpooling to the fields is now prohibited, so many are incurring high transportation costs to get to work. All the while, farmworkers also still technically face the threat of deportation by the policies of this administration. It's abhorrent.

Here's some of what we can do:

- We need to consider hazard pay for farmworkers working in dangerous environments
- We need to implement and extend paid sick leave and child care
- We need to sign the Farm Workforce Modernization Act into law to shield them from deportations and put them on a path to permanent status

Farmworkers have always been essential in this country. It’s a moral failure that so many who work hard and put food on the tables of the American people still live in fear of deportation and struggle to make ends meet.

It's time Congress showed farmworkers the respect they deserve. Sign this petition calling on Congress to provide urgent assistance to farmworkers in any upcoming relief legislation.

Thanks for your support,

TJ Cox