August 31, 2022 8:09 AM
By Melissa Montalvo
Fresno farmworker and immigrant rights groups are calling on California Sen. Alex Padilla to vote “no” on a piece of federal legislation they say would hurt both domestic and guest agricultural workers. On Monday morning, about 20 people gathered in front of the Robert E. Coyle Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in downtown Fresno to state their opposition to the bipartisan Farm Workforce Modernization Act, or FWMA.
The proposed law would create a pathway to legal residency for some undocumented agricultural workers who meet certain criteria, and would also expand the guest agricultural work program, also known as H-2A, a step opponents say can hurt farmworkers already in the United States, as well as guest workers employed through the program