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Cunha: Obama Election Boosts Chances For Farm Labor Solution

Valley farmers may have voted 3 to1 against Mr Obama but ironically it was Obama’s big win that appears to have shaken up the GOP and boosted chances agriculture may be finally getting what they want – a legal workforce. So says a key ag industry advocate – Manuel Cunha, who heads up Nisei Farmers League.

”The GOP go their head handed to them” in the election that saw Obama win the Latino vote 71% to 27% for Mr Romney. ”If Romney had won we would have a far more difficult task ahead of us now.”

During the Republican primary process Romney seemed to move to the right on immigration, something that didn’t sit well with many Latino voters. To avoid repeating the mistake – with the election results in their hands- Republicans appear to be considering working on immigration reform as House Speaker John Boehner has now signaled. “This issue has been around far too long,” he said. “A comprehensive approach is long overdue, and I’m confident that the president, myself, others can find the common ground to take care of this issue once and for all.”Boehner told ABC a few days ago.
”Kevin McCarthy is on board too” expects Cunha speaking of the Valley-based number 3 GOP leader in the House.
Only days after the election, a top Democrat and Republican announced that they hope to start debate this year. Sen. Charles Schumer of New York and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said they will restart immigration reform talks that collapsed two years ago
Because momentum is now strong, Cunha expects “wording on a new bi-partisan bill will be ready to pass in the first 90 days in 2013.”

Cunha is working on a unique strategy to gain more backing for the ideas to support both the normalizing of current undocumented residents who have been living here as well as a guest worker plan.

“We call it the 3Bs’”

The list includes perhaps some strange bedfellows. 1.Bible – evangelicals and traditional religious groups supporting humane treatment of families. 2. Business – that includes agriculture who want a work program and 3.Badges – law enforcement who want to see this issue off their backs.

Cunha says if “all 12 million undocumented is too much to tackle in the first round” his group supports a “phased approach” that would back the Dream Act (opposed by the GOP in the past) and allowing residents with no criminal record but who have lived here for say, 20 years, to apply for citizenship, for example.

Regarding potential support from advocacy groups like the United Farmworkers, Cunha says”the front door is open” to continue to work with immigrant advocates like the UFW on a consensus. Cunha and UFW both backed Ag Jobs a few years back, the last attempt to forge a coalition.

Cunha add that Sen Diane Feinstein will play a key role in coming negotiations and that his group -Immigration Forum, will be working with the Senator and working across the aisle “to stop stonewalling on this issue.”

In 2012 California farmers complained they were having trouble getting enough labor with some saying new arrivals are not coming from Mexico,afraid to cross the border because of drug cartel activity near the borders. Also, farmers said more workers are now going into construction, food service or hotels so there’s more competition in finding farm laborers.

The Western Growers Association this summer told CNBC its members were reporting a 20 percent drop in laborers this year. “Stronger border controls are keeping workers from crossing into the U.S. illegally, and the current guest worker program is not providing enough bodies.”

Cunha himself said earlier this summer that he expected there would not be enough workers to harvest the raisins but later, after the harvest, suggested a smaller raisin crop this year insured an adequate supply of labor.

In May the PEW Hispanic Center released a report that said “The largest wave of immigration in history from a single country to the United States has come to a standstill. After four decades that brought 12 million current immigrants—most of whom came illegally—the net migration flow from Mexico to the United States has stopped and may have reversed, according to a new analysis of government data from both countries by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.
The standstill appears to be the result of many factors, including the weakened U.S. job and housing construction markets, heightened border enforcement, a rise in deportations, the growing dangers associated with illegal border crossings, the long-term decline in Mexico’s birth rates and broader economic conditions in Mexico.”
Those who wanted a stronger border first – can perhaps declare victory allowing immigration reform, to use an Obama phrase – go forward.

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