Two weeks prior to the 2007 Thanksgiving recess, Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA) decided against including The Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits, and Security (AgJOBS) Act in legislation to reauthorize the Farm Bill because she believed that the politics of the Farm Bill could lead to AgJOBS' defeat.  AgJOBS, which Senator Feinstein authored, would provide agricultural employers with a stable and legal labor force, protect farm workers from exploitative working conditions, and create an earned adjustment program that could lead to permanent resident status for nearly 1.5 million undocumented farm workers.

AgJOBS was part of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) bill that collapsed in Congress earlier this year and AgJOBS' exclusion from the Farm Bill likely ends the possibility that a CIR bill or any of its components will be considered this year.  In October, another piece of CIR legislation, The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, also failed to pass as stand-alone legislation and has not been reconsidered in Congress.  The Dream Act would provide certain undocumented immigrant students who entered the United States illegally -- through no fault of their own – as children with their parents to graduate from a U.S. high school or attain a G.E.D. with the opportunity to gain citizenship and access to higher education. 

The Washington State Catholic Conference continues to support and work with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and other organizational members of the Justice for Immigrants (JFI) Campaign to ensure that any immigration legislation includes the principles set forth by the U.S. bishops.  Any legislation which would warrant USCCB support should include:

·         A legalization program for the undocumented which includes family unity and a realistic path to citizenship

·         A new worker program with worker protections and a path to citizenship

·         The preservation of family reunification as a cornerstone of our immigration system and the elimination of family backlogs and waiting times.