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AFBF concerned about ag labor in immigration bills

With the defeat of the Securing America’s Future Act in the U.S. House, a farm group is concerned about whether Congress can get important fixes into immigration laws that farmers need.

Mace Thornton with American Farm Bureau says they supported the failed bill, and tells Brownfield he’s glad the House will bring up separate ag worker legislation, but, “Being able to get support for an ag-specific bill, from what we’re hearing, is probably going to be harder than even getting support for this broader bill that was defeated today.”

Thornton tells Brownfield Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall learned several ag labor provisions were put back into the Securing America’s Future bill Wednesday, prompting him to call an emergency board meeting to support the bill.  Farm Bureau has not taken a position on the so-called compromise immigration bill knows as the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act up for a vote Friday.