Major immigration reform has been talked about for decades, but torpedoed legislation is as far as that has gone. Indeed, President Ronald Reagan was still just in his second term when he signed the last comprehensive immigration reform bill successfully steered through Congress.
Amid the cavalcade of immigration-related actions that the current administration has sanctioned, however, the possibility has appeared for that trend to be bucked. In the process, it opens the door for some of the nation's backstretch immigrant workforce to potentially find themselves on a new pathway towards legal status.
“This is not a new problem, and I'm encouraged by the fact that the president is talking about it,” said James O'Neill, director of legislative affairs for the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC), a nationwide bipartisan coalition of over 1,700 employers and CEOs, about comments made by President Donald Trump at an April 10 cabinet meeting.
At that gathering, Trump intimated of a new program to help farm, hotel and other workers leave the country and then return legally with the support of their U.S. employer.
“We are also going to work with farmers, that if they have strong recommendations from their farms for certain people, we're going to let them stay in for a while and work with the farmers and then come back and go through a process, a legal process,” Trump said.
“We have to take care of our farmers and hotels and, you know, various places where they use, where they need the people. And we're going to be working with you very carefully on that,” the president added.
Federally, the backstretch workforce falls under the umbrella of the Fair Labor Standards Act, limiting them to H-2B visas only.
The H-2B visa program–which affords non-agriculture seasonal immigrant workers jobs in such industries as hospitality or with animals–has its limitations. It comes with a restrictive annual quota. The visa is typically only granted for a year or less, but it can be extended for up to three years.
While Trump's wording at the meeting was vague, the pathways available to bring such concepts to life appear largely two-fold: Through executive order or through legislation.
If he takes the executive order route, said O'Neill, “then the scope of the program may be more limited. But it may be faster from a procedural standpoint.”
A legislative fix may take longer, O'Neill added, but it would likely be a “more comprehensive or more permanent solution to some of the problems that we're seeing.”
While the current administration's aggressive approach to immigration enforcement towards individuals both documented and undocumented has so far largely left horse racing alone, other industries haven't fared as well, like in the breadbasket of Central California, for example, of the Midwest.
Indeed, Trump's comments came off the back of much push back from industry groups and immigration reform organizations in recent months.
According to O'Neill, ABIC brought over 150 business owners to Washington to meet with over 121 offices at the end of March. They included representatives from the racing industry like trainer Dale Romans and California Horse Racing Board vice president, Oscar Gonzalez. Their message?
“What we need to see is a secure border and a secure workforce. And we need policy that provides employers with the talent that they need to keep their business running and their business growing,” said O'Neill.
There are possible blueprints for a new immigration bill to follow, including the language written into the stalled 2022 Affordable and Secure Food Act, which, among other things, provided a pathway to a green card after 10 years of work for farm and equine workers in the program.
According to immigration attorney Will Velie, who also represents individuals from horse racing, Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo)–the law maker who introduced that 2022 bill–is still pursuing similar legislative reforms.
“He needs a Republican co-sponsor, which is where the bill is right now,” said Velie.
Velie added that the federal budget is expected to contain tens of billions of dollars for immigration enforcement only. That, weighted against the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, could be the impetus needed for comprehensive immigration reform to finally find the needed traction, said Velie.
“Trump is so mercurial when it comes to policy. And his party is so lock-step with him that if he on one-day says enforcement only, and on the next day says 'oh, we'll save the farm workers,' then all of a sudden it's a possibility,” said Velie.
On Thursday morning at Churchill Downs, Velie will be one of the attendees at a joint ABIC and Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association media briefing to discuss this renewed push for bipartisan immigration reform.
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