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1 1 (April 25, 2007)

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                                                                           Order Code 95-712
                                                                       Updated April 25, 2007





SCRS Report for Congress


                 The Effects on U.S. Farm Workers

            of an Agricultural Guest Worker Program

                                      Linda Levine
                              Specialist in Labor Economics
                              Domestic Social Policy Division


        Summary


            Guest worker programs are meant to assure employers (e.g., fruit, vegetable, and
        horticultural specialty growers) of an adequate supply of labor when and where it is
        needed while not adding permanent residents to the U.S. population. They include
        mechanisms such as the H-2A program's labor certification process to avoid adversely
        affecting the wages and working conditions of comparable U.S. workers. If changes to
        the H-2A program or creation of a new agricultural guest worker program led growers
        to employ many more aliens, the effects of the Bracero program might be instructive:
        although the 1942-1964 Bracero program succeeded in expanding the farm labor supply,
        studies estimate that it also harmed domestic farm workers through reduced wages and
        employment. The magnitudes of these adverse effects might differ today depending
        upon how much the U.S. farm labor and product markets have changed over time, but
        their direction likely would be the same. This report will be updated as warranted.


        Background

            The nation has had a long history of guest worker programs targeted at the
        agricultural industry, which have enabled farmers to temporarily import foreign workers
        to perform seasonal jobs without adding permanent residents to the U.S. population.
        Unsuccessful attempts were made during the past few Congresses to amend the H-2A
        program, the only means currently available to employers who want to legally utilize
        aliens in temporary farm jobs. Recent interest among some Members of Congress in a
        broad-based guest worker program has renewed efforts to enact legislation that relates
        specifically to the agricultural sector.'




        1 For information on guest worker legislation see CRS Report RL32044, Immigration: Policy
        Considerations Related to Guest Worker Programs, by Andorra Bruno.

                  Congressional Research Service   The Library of Congress
                        Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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