Senate and House Re-introduce Massive Amnesty for Illegal Aliens Working in Agriculture
Under the provisions of these bills, illegal alien farm workers would be able to obtain a “blue card” granting temporary legal status for themselves and their families if they could show they have worked in the U.S. at least 863 hours or 150 work days (5.75 hours constituting a work day) during the preceding two years. Subsequently, to apply for legal residency, they must demonstrate that they have worked in agriculture here: (1) 100 work days per year each of the first five years following enactment; (2) 150 work days per year each of the first three years following enactment; or (3) over the course of the first four years after enactment, 150 work days per year for three of those years and 100 work days for the other.
The Senate passed AgJOBS legislation as part of its “comprehensive” immigration bill (S. 2611) last May, but the measure died when the House refused to take it up before adjournment. In addition, both the House and Senate saw stand-alone AgJOBS measures (H.R. 884 and S. 359) introduced during the 109th Congress.