Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 9/11/18

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue wants Congress to pass an immigration bill overhauling the H-2A agricultural guest-worker program, even though major agriculture groups in the West oppose the measure, the USDA chief said Monday at a gathering of state ag officials.

The legislation from House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) would change the existing program (and rebrand it as H-2C) by expanding it to include both seasonal and year-round labor needs. House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway (R-Texas) and ranking member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) are both co-sponsors of the bill, H.R. 6417 (115) .

"There is some dispute about it from our Western brethren over whether it addresses all the issues," the secretary acknowledged at a conference hosted by the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. But he thinks it's about the best ag could get at this point to remedy its persistent labor shortage.

The Western Growers Association and California Farm Bureau oppose the measure, and several Golden State Republicans are wary because it includes an "E-Verify" provision that would require employers to verify the legal status of their workers — potentially hampering their ability to find enough labor.

Another controversial provision would force farm laborers who are in the country illegally to return to their countries of origin to apply for the new H-2C visa.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) had promised some GOP members a vote on the Goodlatte labor bill before the August recess. That didn't happen, in part because it appeared to lack enough support to pass.