WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Peter Meijer (R-MI) joined Representative Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and other colleagues in sending a bipartisan letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Mayorkas opposing DHS’ final rule Notification of Temporary Travel Restrictions Applicable to Land Ports of Entry and Ferries Service Between the United States and Mexico.
The DHS final rule, which was published on January 22nd, mandates that essential travelers entering the U.S. must be vaccinated with a CDC-approved COVID-19 vaccine prior to entering the U.S. This requirement would have serious ramifications on our nation’s food supply and on rural economies. The letter calls for greater flexibility with regards to employers' ability to vaccinate agricultural workers upon their arrival and asks DHS to work with industry to offer vaccination clinics at U.S. embassies and consular offices in the employees’ home countries.
Excerpt from the letter:
“Growth in the number of H-2A employees coming to the United States, coupled with the need to replace employees who leave through general attrition, means that the number of employees who are either unvaccinated or have received unapproved vaccines will be substantial. Some of the new H-2A employees are already scheduled to arrive in the U.S. with future arrivals in the coming days and weeks.
“We believe the safety of Americans and those coming to this country for work is paramount and support these efforts by H-2A employers.
“Unfortunately, the rule by DHS threatens to delay the arrival of some employees in an industry where even a few days delay in performing critical time-sensitive tasks can affect the size and quality of the crop. At worst, this rule will prevent these employees from being able to travel to the U.S. to work at all this season – due to lack of access to an approved vaccine versus lack of will to get vaccinated.”
The full text of the letter is available here.
The letter is supported by USApple, the Michigan Apple Committee, and the Michigan Farm Bureau.
Quotes from supporting organizations:
“Apple Growers made a big push to get workers vaccinated last season. We want our workers to be vaccinated for their safety and the safety of our communities. I expect to have at least 10 new workers this year and I don’t know whether they will be able to secure an approved vaccine in Mexico. If we don’t have the right number of workers at the precise time, the crop will go unharvested. It’s frustrating as a grower to think that I could do everything right in terms of caring for my orchards, securing a legal workforce, arranging storage and sales of that crop, all to be derailed by insufficient labor.” - Chris Alpers, a Michigan apple grower, and Chairman, USApple
“The Apple growers in the state of Michigan are committed to keeping their workers safe and healthy. Our growers have been proactive in providing PPE, testing and vaccinations during the COVID crisis. In order to assure a reliable, skilled and legal workforce, many of our growers utilize the H2A program through the U.S. government. The new requirement in the program, which mandates these workers be vaccinated with a CDC-approved vaccine prior to arrival in the United States, could have devastating effects on our industry. Availability of a CDC-approved vaccine in other countries would be a definite barrier for these workers and create significant challenges for our growers. Allowing those workers to be vaccinated in the U.S. would provide our growers confidence in the safety of the vaccine while assuring their ability to harvest their crop.” - Diane Smith, Executive Director, Michigan Apple Committee
Original source can be found here.
