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United Farm Workers President Arturo S. Rodriguez made the
following remarks today (March 24, 2004) at the news conference
in Washington, D.C. on the AgJobs bill (S. 1645 and H.R. 3142) letting
undocumented farm workers earn the permanent legal right to stay
in this country by continuing to work in agriculture:
We want to thank Senators Craig and Kennedy, Representatives Cannon
and Berman and all the lawmakers supporting this proposal.
Conventional wisdom says it is hard to enact major legislation
in an election year. That would be the tragic waste of a great opportunity
in the case of the AgJobs bill.
It is earned legalization. It is fair and sensible reform.
Leaders of the nation's agricultural industry and the
United Farm Workers painstakingly negotiated it with help from key
lawmakers.
It is the only measure strongly supported by employer, labor, civil
rights and religious organizations.
It is the only bill enjoying broad bipartisan support-with 54 co-authors
in the Senate, roughly half Republicans.
But AgJobs also fulfills the promise this nation holds out to
those who perform America's labor. Nowhere is that more
true than in agriculture.
To those who say we shouldn't consider or cooperate
with hard-working, tax-paying undocumented immigrants, that they
are criminals and trespassers, I say to you: Why do you continue
to buy most fresh fruits and vegetables? They come to your tables
through the skill and toil of undocumented farm workers.
American consumers are accustomed to the greatest abundance of
the best quality fruits and vegetables in the world at relatively
cheap prices. Such plenty comes from the hands of undocumented immigrants.
The question is not whether they will remain in the country. America's
economy?and American agriculture?cannot survive without them.
The question is whether these workers will continue living in fear
and be denied a voice in the country that relies so heavily on their
contributions and sacrifice.
We see their faces and suffering every day. They are our co-workers
and neighbors. They are our friends and family. They are us.
One of them is Severo Aucensio. He is 71. For 30 years he has
helped build Oregon agriculture. A nursery worker, Severo has raised
six children and has 20 grandchildren. He is active in his church
and community, including PCUN, our sister union in Oregon. Yet Severo
still earns the minimum wage, has no benefits, no retirement?nothing
to show for 30 years of dedicated labor.
Armando Urbiata is 32, a tomato picker in Ohio. Six years ago
the coyote guiding Armando into the country left him, his pregnant
wife and three small children in the middle of the Arizona desert.
His feet were bleeding. He wrapped his smallest child to keep her
warm at night.
For five years Armando has been an asset to his employer. His
kids are learning English. He is active in his church and union,
FLOC. His ambition is to provide for the family he loves.
In his 1963 speech proposing the historic Civil Rights Act banning
segregation, President Kennedy said:
"We preach freedom around the world, and we mean it.
And we cherish our freedom here at home. But are we to say to the
world?and much more importantly to each other?that this is the land
of the free, except for the [African Americans]; that we have no
second-class citizens, except [African Americans]; that we have
no class or caste system...except with respect to [African
Americans]."
The same questions can be posed today about people who still endure
abuse and discrimination:
As we hold out America as the bulwark against terrorism and intolerance,
can we say to the world?and to ourselves?that this is the land of
freedom, except for undocumented immigrants?
Do we have no second-class citizens, except for the immigrants?
Do we have no class or caste system, except when it comes to immigrants?
The answers to those questions will truly define whether this
nation remains faithful to its heritage of democracy and equality.
We should pass the AgJobs bill now.
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