Cannon joins liberals on farm bill

WASHINGTON — Conservative Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, joined some prominent liberals this week to introduce a bill that could allow up to 500,000 undocumented immigrant farm workers in the country to become legal residents.

"This bill is about finding a stable workforce for a critical sector of our economy," Cannon said, adding it would also bring undocumented workers "out of the shadows."

He joined Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif. — both prominent liberals — and conservative Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, in introducing the legislation. Cannon said that is a sign it "enjoys tremendous bipartisan support."

The legislation is also hailed as an appropriate compromise by both the agriculture industry and farm-worker advocates.

About 7 million undocumented workers, mostly from Mexico, are believed to be in the U.S. Negotiations with Mexico over migrant workers stalled after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when U.S. focus shifted to enhancing border security to prevent the entry of terrorists.

The bill would allow eligible undocumented workers already in the country to apply for temporary worker status. Spouses and children also would be allowed to stay in the U.S., but not to work. Eventually, after a longer period of work, these workers and their families would be eligible for permanent residency.

Immigrants not already in the country would be allowed to come to the U.S. as temporary workers for up to three years. After that, they would have to return to their country of origin.

"An increasing number of farms are going out of business as growers are not able to hire a legal and consistent workforce. As a result, we face the possibility of a compromised domestic food supply," Cannon said.

Cannon, who speaks Spanish and has advocated strongly that Republicans reach out more to Hispanics, added, "This is a historic event. . . . This bill is really about shining the light of law on a shadowed segment of our society."

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Contributing: The Associated Press.

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