The United Farmers Workers (UFW) union is the latest organisation to lobby the Senate for a boost in the number of visa available for immigrants to perform seasonal work in the USA.

Farms in the States are regularly on the look-out for agricultural workers to perform essential seasonal tasks and sector representatives are concerned that food production levels may suffer unless foreigners have easier access to work visas.

Commenting on the situation in the Sacramento Bee, UFW president Arturo Rodriguez said: “There is nobody born in America standing in line to work in agriculture today.”

He believes that a system which grants legal residency to farm helpers who perform temporary work in the USA could be the solution. A system known as AgJobs was presented to senators earlier this month and is currently being debated.

There is high demand for lower-skilled farm helpers and many see the agricultural route as a potentially lucrative avenue through which to obtain work in the USA. At present, however, visa curbs are restricting supply, according to Mr Rodriguez.

Franky Sharry, director of Washington DC’s National Immigration Forum, summed it up when he said: “There’s a ‘Keep Out’ sign on the border and a ‘Help Wanted’ sign ten miles in.”

Contributed by J.Bevan