Shay Myers urges Congress to act now on immigration reform

Don’t put off immigration reform any longer.

That was the message of Shay Myers, CEO of Owyhee Produce, Nyssa, Ore., at a July 21 hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Myers was one of several speaking at the hearing, which was focused on immigrant farmworkers and their role in helping to feed America.

Myers spoke in support of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which would give legal status to undocumented farmworkers who continue to work in agriculture for a period of time.

“Let’s be honest with ourselves, the last 36 years of policies and political failures have led us here. Now is the time to act,” Myers said.
Myers said the U.S. has for 25 years allowed people to cross its southern border, and the system allowed them to be employed.

“If you found yourself in a place where you were unable to feed and clothe your family, would you not make the same decision?” Myers asked lawmakers.

In addition, Myers said the failure to act on immigration reform will hobble American farmers who are operating without enough workers.

“This year on our asparagus farm we lost 100% of the season’s profits because we were unable to get domestic labor when our 36 H-2A workers were delayed at the border and arrived 90 days after our date of need.”

Myers said asparagus represents the “canary in the coal mine,” reflecting declining fortunes and slumping acreage in the face of tight labor conditions.

“Acres harvested in the USA has plummeted over 85% since 2004,” Myers said. 

While California had 25,000 acres of asparagus in 2004, it only has 600 acres now. 

“I still grow asparagus, but I can’t hold on for much longer if we don’t have a workforce and immigration policy that works,” he said.

Myers said growers in the U.S. must pay much higher wages than in Mexico and others in Latin America, and environmental regulations also are stricter in the U.S.

“This is going to sound like hyperbole, but I believe that if we continue on our current trajectory, virtually all vegetable production in the United States will end within a decade,” Myers said.

He urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to act on the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which Myers said must include green cards for those who keep America fed and give consistent access to labor for farmers through H-2A visas. 

Myers also urged U.S. officials to process H-2A petitions much faster to meet the needs of farmers.

Myers said July 22 that it was an honor to speak before the committee.

“There’s a sense of responsibility for speaking for so many people, so many people in our industry and agriculture, and also for those agricultural workers, especially those that seem to be relatively voiceless and invisible in some of these circumstances,” he said. 

“I hope that it was impactful, I hope that it was meaningful.”

Myers said the country needs immigration reform “in every way.”

“We have got to stop kicking the can down the road,” he said. “It’s not ethical and it doesn’t work for our country either.”

Excerpts from other speakers at the hearing:

 Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack: “As Secretary of Agriculture, I have met farmers and ranchers across the country who worry that our immigration system is broken and continually feel the consequences. They struggle with the uncertainty of the labor force from harvest to harvest, worrying they will be unable to find farmworkers to keep them in business. This kind of instability jeopardizes our farmers’ ability to be competitive, puts in question the security of our food supply, and has repercussions on our overall economy. I applaud grower groups and unions for coming together and acknowledging the importance of addressing these issues by reaching a compromise and supporting the bipartisan Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021, which passed out of the U.S. House of Representatives on March 18, 2021, with a vote of 247-174. This legislation provides farmworkers — many of whom have lived in this country for years — an opportunity to earn citizenship.”

Arturo Rodriguez, with the United Farm Workers and UFW Foundation: “We have a House of Representatives that prioritized farmworker legalization by passing a bill in the first 100 days of this Congress. We have a chair of the Judiciary Committee who has committed to passing legislation that allows farm workers to earn legal status. We have a president that is prepared to sign it. Now we need the Senate to use every tool at its disposal to honor the people that we rely on to feed the nation and bring stability to the agricultural industry. The cost of inaction builds each year for all parties involved and for our country. If we’re serious about addressing the issue of agricultural labor, this is our moment.”

Leon Sequeira, attorney: “The domestic labor shortage on America’s farms continues to get worse with each passing year and it is threatening the viability of labor-intensive agriculture in America. If current trends continue and America produces less and less of the food we consume, this issue soon will become a significant national security problem. Relying on foreign countries to produce our televisions, computers and phones is one thing; relying on foreign countries to grow our food is something else altogether.
“Farm work is honest and honorable work. There just are not enough U.S. workers willing to do it. That is true regardless of the unemployment rate. This is not a new phenomenon. Foreign workers have been coming to the U.S. (both with legal authorization and without) to work in agriculture for much of the last century. But the shortage of willing and available U.S. workers to fill jobs on farms is getting worse with each passing year.
“H-2A workers are a vital labor source for American farms. Indeed, in many parts of the country, labor-intensive agriculture could not survive without H-2A workers.
“We will continue to need farmworkers for the foreseeable future. While mechanization and robotics may replace some farm jobs in the future, the cost of that technology will be beyond the reach of the average farmer for many years to come.
“American agriculture cannot survive much longer with our current labor situation. Historically, the biggest variable determining a farmer’s success or failure was the weather. But today, for many farmers in the U.S., the biggest variable they face is the supply and cost of labor. 
“Despite its drawbacks, the H-2A program remains the only option for farms to meet their seasonal labor needs. Going forward, we must improve the H-2A program to ensure that all of agriculture will have
sufficient labor to meet its needs.”