Newhouse-led effort seeks to get temporary ag workers into America faster

A final rule issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could unintentionally add to the nation’s current labor and supply chain issues, according to Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and 11 of his GOP congressional colleagues. 

The lawmakers are concerned about the DHS final rule titled Notification of Temporary Travel Restrictions Applicable to Land Ports of Entry and Ferries Service Between the United States and Mexico, which requires proof of federally approved COVID-19 vaccines for essential travelers, such as temporary agricultural workers holding H-2A visas who want to enter the United States.

In a Jan. 28 letter the congressmen sent to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, they pointed out that since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, H-2A employers have worked to ensure the safety and wellness of their H-2A employees by providing personal protective equipment, COVID-19 testing and on-farm vaccination clinics. 

“As a result, a significant percentage of H-2A employees were vaccinated while they were in the U.S. last year, including 95 percent of H-2A employees in Washington state,” wrote Rep. Newhouse and his colleagues. 

And while most of those vaccinated H-2A workers will return, growth in the number of incoming H-2A employees, coupled with the need to replace employees who leave through general attrition, means that the number of employees who are either unvaccinated or have received unapproved vaccines will be substantial, they wrote, adding that the DHS final rule threatens to delay their arrival to work in an industry where even a few days delay can affect the size and quality of a crop. 

“At worst, this rule will prevent these employees from being able to travel to the U.S. to work at all this season due to lack of access to an approved vaccine versus lack of will to get vaccinated,” the members wrote. 

The lawmakers requested that the secretary provide H-2A employers with the flexibility to vaccinate employees upon arrival and work with industry stakeholders to offer vaccination clinics at U.S. embassies and consular offices in the employee’s home country, and they asked Mayorkas to continue working with the agricultural industry to remedy their concerns “as promptly as possible.” 

“Any more delays could potentially have severe implications on food supply systems and rural economies,” wrote Rep. Newhouse and his colleagues, who included U.S. Reps. Peter Meijer (R-MI), John Katko (R-NY), Fred Upton (R-MI), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), and Tom Rice (R-SC).

Their effort is also supported by the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Council of Agricultural Employers, and Domex Superfresh Growers in Yakima, Wash., among others.