May 2008 Volume 14 Number 4

Immigration Reform: Implications for Farmers, Farm Workers, and Communities

Immigration Reform:
Implications for Farmers, Farm Workers, and Communities
Conference Report
Meeting and Lodging: UC-DC
1608 Rhode Island Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036
Tel 202-974-6200 Fax: 202-974-6250
Thursday-Friday May 8-9, 2008

At least 50 percent of US farm workers are unauthorized. Immigration reform may provide a path to legal status for some currently unauthorized farm workers and make it easier for farm employers to employ legal guest workers under a revised H-2A temporary worker program.

The purpose of this conference is to assess the provisions of pending immigration reform proposals, the roles of legal and unauthorized farm workers in US agriculture and of MSFW programs in integrating migrants and their children, and the implications of continued immigration for rural communities. Presentations of past seminars are at: http://migration.ucdavis.edu/cf/.

The conference is organized with the support of the Farm and Giannini Foundations, with additional support from the Southern Rural Development Center and the Institute for the Study of International Migration.

Thursday, May 8, 2008
7:45am Breakfast available in conference room on the ground floor

8:45am Welcome and Introductions, Philip Martin, UCD, and Bruce Cain, UC-DC

9:00am Immigration Reform and Agriculture: Where Congress Stands. Rep Howard Berman (D-CA)

9:45am Break

10:00am Immigration Patterns, 1986-2008, Jeff Passel, Pew Hispanic Center
What's Driving Migration in Rural America? William Kandel, USDA

11:00am The Outlook for Immigration Reform, Chair, Susan Martin, ISIM
Mark Krikorian, Center for Immigration Studies
Frank Sharry, National Immigration Forum

12:00pm Lunch

1:00pm Industry and Worker Perspectives on Immigration Reform
Patrick O'Brien, American Farm Bureau Federation
Bruce Goldstein, Farmworker Justice Fund
Erik Nicholson, UFW

2:30pm Break

3:00pm Research Perspectives on Immigration, Agriculture, and Communities
The Changing Farm Work Force? Daniel Carroll, DOL
How do Labor Market Adjustments occur in Agriculture? Philip Martin, UC-Davis
How is Immigration Changing Rural Communities? Cornelia Flora, Iowa State University,
The H-2A and H-2B Programs: Impacts on Industries and Communities, David Griffith, E Carolina University
Migrants in Spanish Strawberries, Piotr Plewa, University of Delaware

5:00pm Adjourn

7:15pm Dinner, Logan Tavern, 1423 P St. NW

Friday, May 9, 2008
7:30am Breakfast available in conference room on the ground floor

8:30am Farm Labor: Commodities and Areas, Chair, Philip Martin, UCD
California and Raisins, Philip Martin, UCD and Bert Mason, CSUFpaper: paper, presentation
Florida and Citrus/Tomatoes, Bob Emerson and Nobuyuki Iwai, U-Florida: paper, presentation
Washington and Apples and Cherries, Ernst W. Stromsdorfer
Colorado, Dawn Thilmany, Colorado State
New York and Dairies/Fruits and Vegetables, Tom Maloney, Cornell: paper, presentation
Virginia and Tobacco/Tomatoes, Jeff Alwang, VPI
Arizona, JoAnn Warner, WSU, and Trent Teegerstrom, University of Arizona: paper, presentation, additional paper

10:45am Break

11:00am Farm Labor: Commodities and Areas II

11:30am Lunch

12:15pm Immigrant and Communities, Chair, Cornelia Flora, Iowa State University
Nebraska and the Midwest, Lourdes Gouveia, Uni of Nebraska-Omaha
Carolinas, David Griffith, E Carolina University
Texas, Rogelio Saenz and Hilario Molina, Texas A&M University
New York, Max Pfeffer and Pilar Parra, Cornell University: paper, presentation
Pennsylvania, Jill Findeis and Janelle Larson, Penn State
Oregon, Ed Kissam, JBS

2:00pm Break

2:15pm What's Happening in Mexico and Brazil?
Migration and Development in rural Mexico, Agustin Escobar, Ciesas Occidente
Mexico-US Fruit and Vegetable Trade, Linda Calvin, USDA
Migrant Farm Workers in Brazil, Márcia Azanha, University of São Paulo

3:00pm Adjourn

May 2008 Volume 14 Number 4

<< back