The House of Representatives approved legislation on Wednesday night that would grant amnesty to more than 1 million illegal farm workers and renew the outdated system of indentured servitude to guarantee a steady and cheap foreign worker labor force going forward. The bill passed 260-165, mostly along party lines with all but four Democrats who were present supporting the legislation and more than 80% of the Republicans opposing the legislation.
In addition to granting amnesty to an estimate 1.5 million illegal farm workers, the bill also would grant amnesty to their family members. Further, it expanded the H-2A guest worker program -- an unlimited visa program used by agricultural employers to hire seasonal farm workers -- into dairy, meat and fish processing, and canning, and would set aside 20,000 H-2A visas each year that could be used for year-round agricultural jobs traditionally held by American workers. The bill would also create 40,000 additional green cards each year for longtime H-2A workers and other low-skilled foreign workers.
While most Republicans did oppose the legislation, three original cosponsors of the bill decided to vote against it due to significant pressure from grassroots activists. The following Republican cosponsors voted No:
While nearly all Democrats voted Yes, three Democrats did vote No, including:
Also of note, Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-03) voted Present, and Libertarian Rep. Justin Amash (MI-03) voted No despite the Libertarian Cato Institute's endorsement of the bill.
The following Republicans voted Yes (* cosponsors):
Click here to see the full Roll Call Vote.
