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In the first two and a half months of 2021, illegal immigration has reached a crisis point. There have been more than 200,000 illegal border crossings with as many as 5,000 illegal crossing encounters in one day. In order to maintain the rule of law and keep criminals out of our country, we must continue working to enhance our border security.

One way to do this is to take away opportunities to work illegally in the United States. Congress can do so by creating a viable agriculture labor program that allows workers to come into our country, work legally, and return home.

To do so, I introduced bipartisan legislation that creates an employment- and merit-based program to ensure that not only are agriculture workers in the United States legally, but that they remain law-abiding and continue to contribute to our farms, ranches, local communities, and economies. It also streamlines our existing H-2A program to give growers who utilize the temporary guestworker program more flexibility and to allow access for year-round sectors like dairy, and it phases in the mandatory use of E-Verify to ensure workers maintain a legal work status.

This need for a reliable workforce is something farmers and ranchers throughout Central Washington have known for decades, and the dire situation was only worsened by the global pandemic. Our region is known around the world for producing high-quality specialty crops many of which are extremely labor-intensive to grow and harvest. As much as employers would prefer to hire Americans to work in their fields, there just simply isnt enough interest from domestic workers to get these jobs done.

This puts our farmers in a tough spot. Many of them rely on the burdensome, outdated, and bureaucratic H-2A guestworker program to secure enough labor to get their crops to market, and others employ experienced agriculture employees, many of whom have been working in fields for decades. All of these workers present documentation, but farmers are not equipped with the ability to determine if this paperwork is current or authentic.

This is unacceptable. Washingtons agriculture industry is valued at more than $10 billion. It simply doesnt make sense that such a huge sector of our economy would rely on a workforce that may or may not be in the United States legally.

For decades, Congress has attempted to pass comprehensive immigration reform packages. We have not been successful. That is why I, along with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, worked with agriculture groups, farmers, labor organizations, and farmworkers to negotiate a bipartisan, targeted solution for our nations agriculture sector. This week, this solution the Farm Workforce Modernization Act will come to the House floor for a vote.

The COVID-19 pandemic taught the United States just how fragile our food supply chain can be. Farmers and farmworkers are the often-unseen driving force that keeps food on our tables and on shelves at grocery stores. I reintroduced this legislation to effectively address our agriculture industrys labor crisis and provide much-needed stability for farmers, ranchers, and farmworkers across the country.

We absolutely must enhance our border security, and I continue to work in Congress to do just that. But we also must reform our broken immigration laws and ensure that those who wish to pursue a legal pathway or come to our country to work are able to do so.

We want to give these agriculture workers many of whom have worked on farms and lived in the shadows for years the chance to get right with the law while, at the same time, making sure that we have an efficient system for both farmers and farmworkers to use to ensure a future legal workforce.

The Farm Workforce Modernization Act is the solution our agriculture industry deserves, and in 2019, it became the first agriculture labor reform bill to pass the House since 1986. Now, I am working with Senators on both sides of the aisle to ensure we can make even more progress and send this legislation to the Presidents desk.

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Strong agriculture labor program needed to stop illegal immigration - The Star of Grand Coulee

Authorities said at least seven people, some of whom were in the country illegally, were taken to local hospitals after a pickup crashed into a tree during a multi-agency Lavaca County chase. Tuesday

That chase is one of several immigration-related incidents in the past week or so in the Crossroads. They come during a recent surge of migrants at the southern border.

The chase began after an attempted traffic stop on Fairwinds Street west of downtown Hallettsville about 10:25 p.m.

Authorities were attempting to stop a white Ford F-250 in the 800 block of West Fairwinds Street when the vehicle took off, according to a Facebook post from the Hallettsville Police Department.

The pickup truck traveled south on U.S. 77 at a high rate of speed, officials said. The vehicle traveled down multiple county roads before crashing into a tree on County Road 461, where it was engulfed in flames, officials said.

About three or four people fled the scene of the crash, which occurred on County Road 461 south of Hallettsville and have not been detained, Lt. Erica Vaccaro of the Hallettsville Police Department said Wednesday.

Lavaca County EMS transported at least seven people involved to area hospitals, according to another Facebook post.

Vaccaro said local officials have turned information about the incident over to the Department of Homeland Security.

Officers determined that several of the people involved in the crash were in the country illegally after conducting interviews with them, Vaccaro said. Some of the people involved were carrying Mexican identification.

One of the people who evaded custody was confirmed to be a Guatemalan citizen after interviewing with Border Patrol officials. That person turned themself in to Lavaca County deputies after speaking with a nearby landowner in the area, Lavaca County Sheriff Micah Harmon said.

The pursuit does not appear to be connected to an illegal immigration investigation in Victoria County where at least 12 immigrants officials suspect were in the county illegally evaded arrest last week, said Justin Marr, Victoria County sheriff.

Also unrelated to the Victoria County pursuit, a woman from Honduras was found dead Friday alongside a Goliad County highway after a truck driver spotted her body from the roadside. Investigators confirmed she was involved in a human smuggling or trafficking operation after a family member called the Victoria Police Department with a tip that the woman may have been dumped in the area, said Roy Boyd, Goliad County sheriff.

Marr said those incidents and their subsequent investigations can be taxing on the agencys resources.

We were depleted by the March 8 chase, he said. Since there were multiple vehicles and two different scenes, we had to call in deputies who were off that day to keep up with daily patrol duties.

A recent surge of migrants that began last year has resulted in thousands of immigrants arriving at the border and the deployment of FEMA resources to assist with the growing number of unaccompanied migrant children. Additionally, Gov. Greg Abbott has announced the beginning of Operation Lone Star, which would deply more federal and state resources to the border.

In February, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported more than 100,000 encounters on the nations southwest border. That was up from about 78,000 in January.

In 2019, there were more than 1.1 million enforcement actions involving immigrants, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Already this year, almost half as many actions have been reported.

Marr, Harmon and Boyd said they also have seen an increase in human smuggling activity in their counties in recent months.

We strongly encourage citizens to lock their doors and to keep their houses and vehicles locked, Vaccaro said.

Mark Rosenberg reports on local, regional and breaking news for the Victoria Advocate as a Report for America corps member. He can be reached atmrosenberg@vicad.comor 361-574-1264 or on Twitter at @markrosenberg32. To support local journalism at the Advocate through Report for America, go toVictoriaAdvocate.com/report.

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Authorities: Crash near Hallettsville that injured 7 likely involved illegal immigration - Victoria Advocate

Migrant farmworkers with H-2A visas harvest romaine lettuce in King City, Calif., April 17, 2017. (CNS photo/Lucy Nicholson, Reuters)

By Rhina Guidos, Catholic News Service

The U.S. House of Representatives approved two separate immigration bills March 18, clearing an initial hurdle for two groups seeking a path toward citizenship: younger unauthorized immigrants called Dreamers and migrant farmworkers.

Both measures passed in the House along party lines, for the most part, with but will face greater opposition in the U.S. Senate.

The U.S. bishops were among those from various faith-based organizations, including Catholic groups such as the Franciscan Action Network and the Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach, voicing support for the bills: the American Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Modernization Workforce Act.

They are aimed at helping many hardworking immigrants reach their God-given potential, not only for their benefit but for that of the entire country, said the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the bishops migration committee chair in a joint statement released March 19.

Inspired by the life of Christ, the Catholic Church remains committed to ensuring that all persons within our society are given the opportunity to flourish, especially those so often relegated to the margins, the prelates said, calling on the Senate to pass these measures swiftly.

Issuing the statement were Los Angeles Archbishop Jos H. Gomez, USCCB president, and Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of Washington, chairman of the USCCBs Committee on Migration. Bishop Dorsonville also had written a letter to all House members March 15 urging passage of the bills.

We once again call on legislators from both chambers of Congress to work together to enact broader, vitally needed reforms to address our broken immigration system, the prelates said in their statement. We pledge to work with Congress and the administration on this effort, which we believe is an urgent issue to uphold life and human dignity.

Via a late March 18 news release from the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, a network of 55 national, faith-based organizations with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual.

As people of faith, we believe that everyone deserves legal protection, especially dreamers, TPS holders and farmworkers, said Scott Wright, director of the Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach.

TPS, or Temporary Protected Status, is given to eligible nationals of designated countries who are present in the United States.

As we urge the Senate to quickly pass these bills, Wright said, we remind them of what Pope Francis said to Congress during his 2015 visit: Let us help others to grow, as we would like to be helped ourselves. In a word, if we want security, let us give security; if we want life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities.'

Stephen Schneck, executive director of the Franciscan Action Network, called the House action a positive and welcome step to protect migrants, strengthen our economy, and keep families together.

We heed Pope Francis call to build bridges, not walls and urge the Senate to act swiftly in passing the equivalent bills to help our vulnerable immigrant brothers and sisters, he said.

The National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd also weighed in, calling on the Senate to approve the measures this spring.

In talking about the Dreamers, farmworkers and others covered by the House bills, Lawrence E. Couch, the centers director, said: They held the hands of their parents as they made the perilous journey north. They hand-pick our strawberries. They clasped hands upon touching down in America after fleeing natural disasters. Now it is time long past time for members of Congress to raise their hands and vote for passage of the Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.

These undocumented youth, TPS and DED (Deferred Enforced Departure) holders, and farmworkers are American in all but a piece of paper, Couch said. They face continuing threats of deportation and have lived so long in uncertainty and with harassment. They deserve peace and the ability to work freely and safely.

In the halls of Congress, political fighting over whether there is an immigration crisis at the border intensified during the debate over the measures.

While neither bill is expected to become law, they serve more as bellwethers of what the battle for immigration reform could look like under President Joe Biden.

Earlier in the year, the Biden administration rolled out a road map toward that goal under the name of the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, introduced in Congress Feb. 18. It seeks to legalize some 11 million unauthorized immigrants currently in the U.S., with a special focus on reunification of families.

It would offer immediate permanent resident status to some groups, such as young adults brought into the U.S. illegally as children, farmworkers and those under a program known as Temporary Protected Status, while also providing an eight-year path to citizenship for others.

The American Dream and Promise Act for unauthorized immigrants has enjoyed strong backing in the past as it seeks to provide young adults brought to the country illegally as children a path toward citizenship.

All House Democrats voted for it, and nine Republicans voted with them. It passed 228-197.

Currently, young people known as Dreamers are protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.

The House measure would similarly benefit immigrants in the country under the TPS program, which grants a work permit and reprieve from deportation to certain people whose countries have experienced natural disasters, armed conflicts or exceptional situations so they can remain temporarily in the United States.

Seven Republicans broke ranks and voted for the bill in 2019 in the House, but the proposed legislation didnt have the votes to pass in the Senate.

Early signs show a tough road ahead. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., urged Republicans March 17 against voting for the Dream Act, instead steering the conversation toward the border.

The bill would only worsen the flow of illegal immigrants to the U.S., Scalise said to colleagues in a statement.

The Farm Modernization Workforce Act passed 247-174; 30 Republicans voted for it and two Democrats opposed it. It would allow farmworkers to earn legal status and later they also can apply for permanent residency by showing prior employment and continued work in agriculture.

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House passes two immigration bills with citizenship provisions - The Record

Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called 17th century Ahom general Lachit Borphukan a freedom fighter who contributed to Indias independence from colonialism, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said medieval saint-reformer Srimanta Sankaradeva had premonitions of illegal immigration in Assam.

The problem of illegal immigration in Assam is widely believed to be an outcome of the British rule, the Partition of India in 1947 and the creation of Bangladesh in 1971.

I am proud to be here by the mighty Brahmaputra, in the land of the great Sankaradeva. He was one of the brightest lights of Indias cultural nationalism who saved Assam. If Congress had succeeded with its conspiracy and politics of appeasement, this land would have threatened the national security because of infiltrators, Mr. Adityanath said at a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally in central Assams Lanka on Wednesday.

He also addressed party rallies at Kalaigaon and Goreswar in north-central Assam.

Sankaradeva alerted people to the issue of illegal immigration. Thats why Congress has never tolerated him. Congress has always resorted to appeasement to capture power, not caring about your progress or welfare. The people of Assam have paid a price for it for a long time, he said.

The Congress slammed the U.P. Chief Minister for his ignorance.

This underlines their knowledge about the culture they claim they are going to protect. Yogi-ji should have brushed up on Assams history before saying Sankaradeva battled infiltration in the 15th century, Bobbeeta Sharma, the chief of the State Congress media department, said.

She reminded the U.P. Chief Minister that the saint-reformer was against idol worship and the exploitation of people by those who followed Manusmriti. Srimanta Sankaradeva believed in the assimilation of society and was against the caste system, she said.

The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee would like to gift some Assam history books to Yogi-ji as well as the Prime Minister who said Lachit Borphukan was a freedom fighter, she added.

A polymath, poet, playwright, socio-religious reformer, Sankaradeva is credited with devising new forms of music, theatrical performance (Bhaona), dance (Satriya) and literary language (Brajavali).

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Assam Assembly Elections | Adityanath links medieval saint to illegal immigration, slammed by Congress - The Hindu

The Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments Monday in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, a case about the union rights of farmworkers. It could impact the future of anti-discrimination law and much more.

The plaintiffs in the case are two California fruit producers who are suing over a 1975 state regulation that allows union organizers to have temporary access to an agricultural employers property during non-work hours. The laws rationale is to support workers right to unionize by allowing workers access to their workplace premises for after-hours meetings.

California law requires agricultural businesses to allow labor organizers onto their property three times a day for 120 days each year. The state contends that the regulation is necessary in the specific context of farming: farmworkers tend to be inaccessible to union organizers through other channels, and farm properties lack parking lots or public areas that other workers typically use for gathering. From Californias brief:

[Farmworkers] are highly migratory, moving to follow the harvest every few weeks or months; they often live in temporary housing, sometimes on their employers property; they frequently lack access to modern telecommunications technology; many speak only indigenous languages; and many are illiterate even in their native language. The Boards regulation authorizes a limited number of organizers to access the property of agricultural employers, for brief periods, during non-work hours, solely for the purpose of discussing organizing with employees, and only after notifying the Board and the employer.

Cedar Point Nursery and Fowler Packing Company sued to have the law invalidated, and their argument is based on land use. They say that the law allowing union organizers to meet with workers on their property is an easement that amounts to a per se taking something that would require compensation under the Fifth Amendment.

The after-hours union meetings dont disrupt the employers businesses, and the state of California isnt actually taking the property so to make a Fifth-Amendment argument, the plaintiffs needed to frame their loss as interference with a guarantee that is constitutionally protected. They chose the right to exclude unwanted persons. In other words, the California unionizing regulation deprives the owners of their inherent property right to kick people off their land.

A panel of the Ninth Circuit sided with California, as did the district court. The panel said that because the regulation didnot amount to a physical taking because it did notallow random members of the public to unpredictably traverse their property 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.The panel also ruled that the statute wasnt a regulatory taking because the only property right affected was the right to exclude and thats simply not enough.

Now, SCOTUS will decide whether the Fifth Amendment protects a right to exclude on par with other inherent property rights. If the justices side with the landowners and agree that the regulation amounts to a taking, it would mean the regulation cannot continue to operate without California paying compensation for its taking of the land. Thats novel in itself, but theres far more drama to be had outside the arena of farming and unionizing.

The fruit-producer plaintiffs argue that the right to exclude should take its rightful place among the most sacred of protected interests: fundamental rights.

When a right is fundamental, any law abridging that right triggers the highest level of constitutional scrutiny. Accordingly, a state regulation that interferes with a fundamental right must be narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling state interest in order to pass constitutional muster. In short, state regulations fail almost always fail this test, because the right being protected has been deemed basically untouchable. (Other fundamental rights include the right to marry, the right to privacy, freedom of religion, and freedom of assembly.)

In an email to Law&Crime,Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Wen Fa, who represents the petitioner fruit sellers in the litigation, explained his clients position in the case:

The Constitution prohibits government from requiring you to allow unwanted strangers into your property. The California regulation here is unconstitutional because it forces property owners to allow unwanted union activists onto their property, and violates the property owners fundamental right to exclude trespassers.

However, Aaron Tang, a constitutional law professor and former clerk to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, warned in a Washington Post piece Thursday that as devastating as a ruling for the plaintiffs would be in the context of unions, its real danger lies outside far outside the context of employment law.

Tang writes:

The disputethreatenshavoc just as great outside the union context. Considerstate lawsthat permit child protection inspectors to make unannounced home visits. Now suppose a homeowner suspected of abuse or neglect wants to keep the inspector out. Under the challengers logic, such individuals would have a Fifth Amendment right to do so unless the government paid the suspected abuser to access the property. The same problem would ensnarenursing home visitsandfood safety inspections.

Indeed, we have seen anti-discrimination ordinances challenged on the grounds that they interfere with First Amendment rights; a ruling that the right to exclude is fundamental would mean an entirely separate basis for bringing legal challenges, rooted in property law (a legal landscape far less politically-charged than religious freedom). The cases potential for broad impact is underscored by the more than 30 amicus briefs submitted to the Court by interested yet uninvolved parties.

As for the justices, their position in the case poses some intriguing questions. The Court decided a landmark union case in 2018; it ruled that an employee who is not a member of a union could not be forced to pay union fees for the collective bargaining done on his behalf. In that case, conservative justice Samuel Alitopenned a decision joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch. JusticesSotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen Breyer dissented.

A conservative majority might similarly side against the pro-union ordinance in the Cedar Point litigation. However, if decided on Fifth Amendment grounds, such a decision threatens to create just the kind of chaos the conservative justices usually endeavor to avoid.

Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, March 22, 2021.

[Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images]

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SCOTUS to Decide Whether There Is a Fundamental Right to Kick People Off Your Property - Law & Crime