John - 

"Please help American farmers and ranchers. Please help them secure their future by getting immigration reform done this year."  

This was the plea from Joel Anderson, Executive Director of the Snake River Farmers Association in Idaho, in a recent virtual conversation calling on Congress to pass immigration reforms. Panelists representing a cross-section of businesses, agricultural producers, the national security  community, and more called for needed legislative reforms, including passage of the bipartisan Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which would reform the process by which temporary foreign workers migrate to the U.S. to work in agriculture. 

In recent months, everyday Americans and businesses alike have faced major challenges: inflation, supply chain delays, and workforce shortages that threaten U.S. food security and impact the affordability of groceries.  

Urge your Senators to act now to keep food affordable by passing the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.  

Lori Taylor, founder and CEO of the Produce Moms, agreed: "The two most resilient communities I know are farmers and our moms, but no one can continue to fight these grocery prices we have now. Immigration reform without doubt will yield lower prices of goods at the grocery store." 

And these reforms wouldn’t just benefit Americans in the checkout line – they would also benefit the farmworkers who help power our economy and keep food on our tables.  

"This is what H2-A and H2-B programs do: they change lives like mine, provide an honest way to come into the U.S. and support your families," said Alla Kureninova, an Operations Manager at Natural Beauty Growers in South Dakota.  

Tell your Senators to act now and pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act to help lower prices and support farmers and farmworkers.  

Also a fan of passing agricultural reforms? National security experts. "Border patrol officers have told me that the ability for farmworkers to become legal reduced the amount of traffic they would see in between ports of entry," said Doug Baker, Senior Director for Border and Transportation Security Policy in the George W. Bush administration. "The border is broken and it’s up to Congress to fix it. They could greatly enhance border security by creating worker programs for farmworkers."  

The time is now for Congress to modernize the way we approach our agricultural workforce to help address labor shortages, stabilize grocery prices, and enhance our national security. Contact your Senators now.  

Thanks for all you do to pass meaningful immigration reform,  

Laurence Benenson 
Vice President of Policy & Advocacy 
National Immigration Forum