Immigrants in Meatpacking
“The harsh border enforcement policy and arguments calling for even more effort at enforcement are justified on the grounds that the influx of unauthorized migrant workers is harmful to US interests. The costs to immigrants of strict enforcement have been substantial and well documented … These costs are balanced against the presumed benefits to US residents. They bear the costs. We reap the benefits.”[1]
How many undocumented immigrant workers work in meatpacking industry? And where do they mostly come from?
The increase of immigrant workers has occurred alongside structural changes in meatpacking industry. Many of the immigrant workers are from Latin American countries, while others are from Africa.
The roughly estimated number of undocumented workers in the meatpacking industry ranges from 20%-50%.[2]
How could these undocumented immigrants obtain legal status to work?
Permanent residency status, also known as having a green card, is allocated on the basis of quotas for each country of origin. The current yearly quota for Mexico is 20,000, while an estimated 202,000 undocumented immigrants came to the US every year between 1987 and 1996[3].
Another option could be temporary work permit programs (H2)[4]These work permits are designated for unskilled labor when no American workers can be found. There are two types of permits:
- H2-A: for temporary or seasonal agricultural labor (uncapped)
- H2-B: for temporary, seasonal, intermittent or peak non-agricultural labor, ideally for workers in grinding season (off-field work), and capped as 66,000 per year and more than 100,000 petition for those slots
Employers may also apply for a temporary labor certification, but mostly it is applied to skilled and professional workers.
It is hard for low-skilled immigrant workers (especially from Mexico) to work legally under current US law for any purpose other than agricultural labor.
Have there been any recent efforts to broaden work permit programs?
While several programs have been proposed, none of them have passed Congress or become effective.
- The Bush administration’s 2004 guest worker program (similar to the Bracero program of the 1940s - 1960s). Under this proposal, foreign workers, including the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants currently in the US, could have applied for a permit to work for three years, but they would never have become eligible for legal permanent status or citizenship through this program.
- The McCain-Kennedy 2005 temporary visa program for low-skilled workers[5]: H5A visa program. Some undocumented immigrants could have applied for legal permanent residents, after working for 6 years and paying taxes and fines.
- The 2006 Comprehensive Immigrant Reform Act (Senate Bill 2611)[6] This bill proposed a three-year temporary visa program with a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants currently in the US. It also included aggressive border enforcement measures.
Since none of these proposals passed, immigration remains a topic of ongoing debate in Congress.
References:
1. Champlin, Dell and Eric Hake. Immigration as industrial strategy in American meatpacking. 2006, p. 66
2. Ibid. p. 63
3. Orrenius, Pia M. Illegal Immigration and Enforcement Along the U.S.-Mexico Border: An Overview. 2001, p. 2
4. For more information see the H2A website, the H2B website, or a PowerPoint that explains some of the differences between H2A and H2B.
5. Summary of McCain-Kennedy legislation.
6. Bill text
