Dear John,  

This past weekend, I was enjoying a beautiful, temperate late spring day here in Washington, D.C. - the flowers were blooming, the birds were chirping, the D.C. summer humidity hadn’t started quite yet, and the produce at the farmer’s market was fresh and plentiful. As I checked out with a bundle of rhubarb and a quart of plump, red strawberries to make my favorite warm-weather treat – strawberry rhubarb pie – my thoughts turned to the role immigrant farmworkers across the country play in the sweet snack.  

Farmworkers have ensured that Americans have food on their tables throughout the past year, and berries are among the top crops grown by temporary farmworkers. Undocumented workers, temporary guest-workers, green card holders, and naturalized citizens comprise a large majority of farmworkers, with approximately 78% of farmworkers born outside of the United States. 

Take action and tell your Senators to pass a legislative solution that would reform and modernize our agricultural visa program.  

Farmworkers, alongside Dreamers, TPS holders, and many immigrant communities have been crucial to helping us get through the pandemic; about 130,000 TPS holders are currently contributing as essential workers, and nearly 30,000 DACA recipients work in health care across the U.S. 

The Senate should act and pass legislation that would provide all of these important community members with protection from deportation and an opportunity to obtain permanent legal status in the United States. 

Tell your Senators to act now and pass legislation that will provide a path forward for Dreamers, TPS holders, and farmworkers. 

A path to citizenship for farmworkers, Dreamers, and TPS holders is not only crucial to our recovery from the pandemic, it’s an issue with broad, bipartisan support. Nearly three-quarters of Americans support a path to citizenship for Dreamers, and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives with bipartisan support earlier this year.   

Tell your Senators to act now and pass bipartisan immigration reform legislation that will provide farmworkers, Dreamers, and TPS holders with a path to citizenship.  

Thank you for everything you do for immigration reform,  

Becka Wall  
Vice President of Digital Communications
National Immigration Forum 

P.S. - looking for a great strawberry rhubarb pie recipe? Here’s my favorite.