WASHINGTON, DC – Today, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, legislation that would build a stable agricultural workforce while creating an earned path to legal status for longtime U.S. agricultural workers. FWD.us President Todd Schulte issued the following statement:

“The bipartisan legislation introduced today would be a tremendous step forward if signed into law. All Americans would be better off if the agricultural workers who are vital to our nation’s food supply were provided with an earned path to legal status, which is both critical for maintaining a reliable, experienced workforce, and is also a recognition of their importance to our economy.

“This type of legislation is a good example of how bipartisan compromise can help fix other parts of our broken immigration system, while recognizing the critical contributions of America’s farmworkers and the importance of keeping their families together. We applaud the bipartisan work and effort of Chairwoman Zoe Lofgen (D-CA), Representative Dan Newhouse (R-WA), and the rest of the bill cosponsors to address the labor crisis facing American agriculture.”