Although farmers should not violate the law, it is difficult to understand how they can attract authorized workers to do the low paying and difficult work that Americans often refuse to do.  Without changes in the immigration law, including the introduction of agriculture-oriented immigration  bill, the United States and farmers will continue to have difficulty producing food without violating immigration laws.

These I-9 audits have been brought against big and small companies alike, including clothing companies, farmers, factories, restaurants, and construction companies.  If you are a company that is going willy nilly with your I-9 requirements – perk up now, or risk paying out big in the near future.  Contact Gafner Law Firm to see whether your company is complying with its I-9 and other immigration enforcement requirements.

Is your company making mistakes on its I-9 forms?  If you don’t know, can you afford a fine that big?

If you would like to ensure that your company has properly maintained its I-9 documentation, please contact the firm to discuss what steps can be taken.

Dairy farmers have been asking for a guest worker program for years – when will Congress hear them?

The audits have caused much angst in the state as many dairy farms in Vermont (and across the nation) are unable to find local American workers who are willing to do the arduous manual labor required on farms.  These farmers are forced to turn to those workers who are willing to do the manual work – immigrants.  Whether an immigrant is authorized to work is a question that these farmers must address when hiring these workers – and a question that is probably not the easiest to answer.

The shortage of American workers willing to work on dairy farms has even caused Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to conclude that he would be willing to support a guest worker program for dairy farmers.  Senator Sanders is not a fan of a guest worker program in general.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform

I recently read an article that demonstrated America’s pervasive need for comprehensive immigration reform.  The article examines how dairy farmers in Minnesota cannot find American workers that are willing to work the long hours in tough conditions that is required to farm.  These dairy farmers, who many see as the backbone of American culture, are turning to foreign national workers who are willing to work those long hours.  Unfortunately, as mentioned in the article, those willing foreign national workers may not always be authorized to work.

As an individual who grew up on a dairy farm (and subsequently left to become an attorney), I know first hand the difficulty farmers have in obtaining competent, hard-working workers.  If a farmer is unable to find Americans willing to work, but has a readily available pool of other individuals willing to work, why should the government not step forward and create a better mechanism for matching those seeking workers and those willing to work?

Comprehensive Immigration Reform is often painted with broad brush strokes.  However, true immigration reform will need to be a composite of smaller brush strokes that each address one of the many immigration situations in the country – including the need for dairy farm workers.

Thank you to fellow immigration attorney Greg Siskind for finding this article.