Farm Bureau Predicts Thin Crop of Immigration Bills
"Immigration reform is a top priority of the American
Farm Bureau, but it probably won’t be a top priority of President Barack Obama’s administration or a more-Democratic Congress, a bureau official says. Patrick O’Brien, a senior economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation in Washington, D.C., spoke Monday at the fourth annual Washington Farm Bureau Labor Conference at the Stanley Civic Center," The World reports. "The nation needs immigration reform if it wants agriculture to survive, O’Brien said. 'But we have to recognize it’s a very fractious issue that will take more time and energy to reach a consensus than some other things. It probably means immigration reform will come later rather than sooner.' He said later could be several years. 'We have a long-term challenge, two to five years, to get ag’s interest and legitimate needs for a guest worker program recognized,' O’Brien said."
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