The House passed (247-174) H.R.1603, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. The bill allows undocumented agricultural workers in the United States who have been working in U.S. agriculture to gain legal status, as well as eventually an opportunity to obtain lawful permanent residency (a green card) and U.S. citizenship. It also terminates the current E-Verify employment eligibility verification system and establishes a similar program to determine eligibility to work in the U.S. agricultural sector, and it overhauls the H-2A visa program that allows foreign nationals into the United States for temporary agricultural work, including by streamlining the application process, modifying the program's wage rates, and adding up to 20,000 year-round visas to allow for year-round agricultural work rather than just temporary or seasonal work.

This bill contains provisions related to alien farmworkers, including provisions establishing a certified agricultural worker (CAW) status and changing the H-2A temporary worker program.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may grant CAW status to an applying alien who (1) performed at least 1,035 hours of agricultural labor during the two-year period prior to March 8, 2021; (2) on that date was inadmissible, deportable, or under a grant of deferred enforced departure or temporary protected status; and (3) has been continuously present in the United States from that date until receiving CAW status. The bill imposes additional crime-related inadmissibility grounds on CAW applicants and makes some other grounds inapplicable.

CAW status shall be valid for 5.5 years and may be extended. DHS may grant dependent status to the spouse or children of a principal alien.

An alien with a pending application may not be detained or removed by DHS and shall be authorized for employment until DHS makes a final decision on the application.

A CAW alien (and dependents) may apply for lawful permanent resident status after meeting various requirements, including performing a certain amount of agricultural labor for a number of years.

DHS shall create an electronic platform for (1) filing H-2A petitions, (2) facilitating the processing of H-2A cases, and (3) providing agencies a single tool for obtaining H-2A-related case information.

The bill makes various changes to the H-2A program, such as (1) modifying the method for calculating and making adjustments to the H-2A worker minimum wage, (2) specifying how an employer may satisfy requirements that it attempted to recruit U.S. workers, (3) requiring H-2A employers to guarantee certain minimum work hours, (4) making the program available for agricultural work that is not temporary or seasonal, and (5) reserving a visa allocation for the dairy industry.

DHS shall establish a pilot program allowing certain H-2A workers to apply for portable status, which gives the worker 60 days after leaving a position to secure new employment with a registered H-2A employer.

DHS shall establish an electronic system patterned on the E-Verify Program for employers to verify an individual's identity and employment authorization. Employers hiring individuals for agricultural employment must use the system.

This bill permanently establishes the Housing Preservation and Revitalization Program, which provides financing assistance for rural rental housing and off-farm labor housing and rental assistance for qualified tenants of such housing. It also authorizes the Department of Agriculture to provide various assistance, including funding for insuring loans and grants for new farmworker housing.

Supporters of the bill, primarily Democrats, say that the growing labor challenges on America's farms are a paramount concern of the industry that needs to be addressed. And solving it, they say, will help ensure a safe and robust domestic food supply, reduce the nation's dependence on foreign food sources, and supply a steady supply of affordable food to the country. The bill rewards the hard workers in agricultural who come to the United States to do jobs that Americans will not do, by providing them with legal status and a path to a green card. It also modernizes an outdated system for temporary workers while ensuring fair wages for everyone. The bill, they say, does what is right by providing a seat at the American table for those who have long grown the food Americans serve and eat.

Opponents of the bill, primarily Republicans, say that while there is no doubt that not enough American workers want to work in the agricultural industry, the bill fails to fix many of the issues with the H-2A program and in fact causes more problems in some cases. They say it does little to halt the out of control wage growth in the program that saw farmers facing wage increases of 6.2%, like they did for FY 2019. They say the hard cap of just 20,000 "year-round" H-2As visas is too low, and that far too many go to the politically connected dairy industry at the expense of other agricultural needs. Finally, they argue that the bill offers a massive amnesty to those who broke the law to work in this country, without even knowing how many individuals this bill would put on a pathway to citizenship.

Should Congress allow undocumented agricultural workers in the United States who have been working in U.S. agriculture to gain legal status, as well as eventually an opportunity to obtain lawful permanent residency (a green card) and U.S. citizenship?