Washington, D.C. — The Alliance for a New Immigration Consensus (ANIC) released the following statement today praising bipartisan movement in Congress with U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s (D-Colo) introduction of legislation to support America’s farmers and ranchers with a reliable, legal workforce and to address food inflation.
The Affordable and Secure Food Act improves upon the provisions of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, a bill the House passed earlier in 2022 with more than two dozen Republican votes.
“Americans support the continued progress in Congress to reduce food prices at the grocery store with policies that deliver a legal, reliable workforce for America’s farmers and ranchers,” said the following members of ANIC: U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Immigration Forum, AmericanHort, International Fresh Produce Association, Mormon Women for Ethical Government, Bipartisan Policy Center Action, California Farm Bureau, Western Growers, State Business Executives, Americans for Prosperity, the LIBRE Initiative, National Association of Evangelicals, The Episcopal Church, World Relief, Emerson Collective, and FWD.us.
“This legislation, and similar policy passed with bipartisan support in the House, has been decades in the making. With record high inflation this year and crippling workforce shortages, Congress cannot wait any longer to act on these common-sense solutions to support America’s agriculture industry.”
The bill would provide a pathway to citizenship for the migrant farmworkers our nation relies on and would provide stability for farmers through major reforms that will protect domestic production and America’s national security by preventing our nation from becoming a net importer of our food supply.
Recent polling shows that 73% of American voters, including 70% of conservatives, want “Republicans and Democrats working together in 2022, on immigration reforms that strengthen border security, allow immigrants brought to the United States as children to earn citizenship, and ensure a legal, reliable workforce for America’s farmers and ranchers.”
This polling follows findings from August that showed that nearly 4 in 5 American adults (77%) want Democrats and Republicans to work together this year on immigration reforms that could reduce food prices by helping America’s farmers.
About the Alliance for a New Immigration Consensus
The Alliance for a New Immigration Consensus (ANIC) is a public coalition of faith, business, agriculture, education, national security and advocacy organizations working to build support for bipartisan legislative solutions that strengthen border security as well as provide permanent legal protections and other reforms for Dreamers, TPS recipients and agricultural workers in 2022.