Riverside County Lawmaker Pitches Worker Permits For Immigrants

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA -- A Riverside County lawmaker, citing labor shortages in California's agricultural and service industries, Wednesday co-introduced legislation that would establish the framework for creation of a resident worker permit program for undocumented immigrants.

Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella, co-authored the California Resident Worker Program and Economic Stabilization Act with Anne Caballero, D- Salinas, Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres, and Devon Mathis, R-Visalia, on the same day that the Justice Department threatened Los Angeles and 22 other so-called sanctuary cities with subpoenas if they fail to provide documents related to local law enforcement policies on sharing information with federal immigration authorities.

"The national debate around immigration has become a serious impediment to effectively resolving this looming economic crisis. Timing is critical and our state is willing to do the groundwork on establishing this imperative workforce program and pass along the baton," Garcia said. "California is a leader and we will continue to lead together, in a bipartisan, inclusive manner to ensure the stability of two of our most vital industries as well as the continued prosperity of our beloved Golden State."

The bill's co-authors said retaining workers in the agricultural and service industries is vital for the economies of California and the nation at large.

"Farmworkers and service workers make significant contributions to California's economy and are essential to maintaining the nation's food supply," Caballero said. "We must do whatever we can to help ensure they secure legal status and remain working in the state."

Cannella said agriculture "is a major contributor to California's economic stability and we should explore all options to ensure we avoid worker shortages, while recognizing the necessity to address immigration reform on the federal level," while Mathis said the measure "is designed to protect these men and women, our friends and our neighbors, from uncertainty."

The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates that between 50 to 70 percent of all farm laborers in the U.S. Wednesday are unauthorized and that the agricultural industry's output would fall by $30 to $60 billion if all undocumented workers were to leave.

More than one-third of the country's vegetables and two-thirds of its fruits and nuts are grown in California, according to the latest statistics from the California Department of Food & Agriculture.

"We can no longer afford to wait on Washington. This labor shortage has become an economic urgency," Garcia said. "We aren't trying to encroach upon federal jurisdiction. Rather, the ultimate goal of our legislation is establishing a bipartisan group of Washington lawmakers, for the purpose of introducing a federal bill allowing states, like ours, to operate their own resident worker programs."

--City News Service/Photo courtesy of the Office of Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia