H-2A Under New Administration Pt 2

H-2A Under New Administration Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. As WAFLA recruits H-2A visa guestworkers from more countries, is it bringing with it the opportunity for more abuse or undocumented workers?

WAFLA director Dan Fazio says they've noticed no change, but the problem really has more to do with actual documents ...

DAN FAZIO ... "No, the undocumented workers are the same. We're not seeing undocumented workers because they have good documents. They just happen to be fraudulent. Particularly in Washington where the primary document for identity is a driver's license. The state of Washington, for some strange reason, has allowed people who are not documented to have unrestricted driver's licenses in violation of the federal Real I-D Act."

Fazio says initiating deals with new countries has been a learning experience, but the government has been a great help ...

DAN FAZIO ... "What we do is, before we go into a country like this, we sit down, particularly in El Salvador, where we were one of the first if not the first H-2A, sat down with the Embassy and had a long meeting, put their concerns on the table, addressed them to their satisfaction, and then they were able to say 'yes, we'll work with you.' Same thing with Guatemala. But, the State Department has been incredible. They've really helped us quite a bit. I wish every government agency was as cooperative as the State Department."

The vast majority of H-2A workers WAFLA hires are still from Mexico, working in Washington apple, cherry and pear orchards.

The number of workers has grown quickly since 2006 when 814 were hired, compared to the 15,000 expected this year.

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