7/28/2016
AmericanHort Defends H-2B Program
Chris Beytes
AmericanHort has joined forces with the National Association of Landscape Professionals to submit joint written testimony for a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest. They were arguing in favor of of the H-2B program in our industry and the continuation of the returning worker exemption in the coming year.
“The helping hands of temporary and seasonal H-2B workers lift up the job security and success of thousands upon thousands of American workers employed in industries like horticulture and landscaping,” said Craig Regelbrugge, AmericanHort senior vice president. “Rather than scapegoating a program that works, Congress should recognize its benefits, and get on with the business of modernizing America’s immigration and visa programs in the interest of the economy.”
The hearing was chaired by Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), who had invited a panel of union, worker advocate, and immigration restrictionists who presented a hostile picture of the program as a threat to American workers and wages. But one witness, Dr. Stephen Bronars of Edgeworth Economics, expressed a divergent view. Dr. Bronars, the former head of the Economics Department at the University of Texas at Austin, testified as follows:
“There should be little disagreement about the economic impact of the H-2B visa program. This program allows non-agricultural U.S. employers to alleviate some seasonal labor shortages by hiring foreign-born temporary workers. In my opinion, the H-2B program benefits small businesses, workers and consumers in the U.S. Scaling back the H-2B program will have a deleterious effect on revenue, employment and wages in some seasonal industries. In contrast, an increase in the number of H-2B visas that can be issued each year would benefit workers, consumers, and small businesses in the U.S.”
GT