Washington, D.C. – The United Farm Workers, America’s largest and oldest agricultural labor union, and the UFW Foundation, a national nonprofit serving farm workers, welcome the reintroduction of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which would create a path to American citizenship for immigrant agricultural workers without criminal histories and with an established track record of agricultural work. This bipartisan compromise bringing together agricultural labor and employer groups would protect undocumented farm workers from the threat of deportation and allow them to continue their essential work of putting food on Americans’ tables.

The Farm Workforce Modernization Act last passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 2021, with 30 Republican votes—the most bipartisan margin of support for any immigration bill in recent years. 

“Across the country, immigrant farm workers are going to work every day to feed America,” said UFW President Teresa Romero. “Yet these same workers are all too often afraid of getting deported, simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. No one should have to go to work scared of not coming home to their families. The workers who feed America have earned the right to stay in America, as Americans. This bipartisan common sense legislation will create an opportunity for them to do so.” 

“Farm workers are essential in feeding this country and deserve a path to legalization,” said UFW Foundation Chief Executive Officer Erica Lomeli Corcoran. “Instead of demonizing them, lawmakers should provide a way for farm workers to be recognized for the work and responsibilities they have fulfilled to become American citizens. At a time of great uncertainty in farm worker communities, we urge Congress to do the right thing and pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.”

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