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A national farmworker advocacy group says that the growing push in Congress for policies that will pressure employers to make sure their employees are not undocumented does nothing to help the agricultural business, which depends on a sizeable unauthorized workforce.

“The status quo for farmworkers and agricultural businesses is untenable and must be reformed,” the organization, Farmworker Justice, said in a statement. “Over 50% of farmworkers are undocumented."

"The lack of immigration status," the group said, "contributes to the significant problems in agricultural workplaces and communities: low wages, poor working conditions, pesticide poisoning, and substandard housing.”

The group released the statement on Thursday, when the House Judiciary Committee’s immigration panel held a hearing on E-Verify, an electronic employment eligibility system that allows employers to check the immigration status of their workers.

The database holds records of the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security, which includes immigration departments.

At present, participation in E-Verify is voluntary, except for certain federal contractors.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, reiterated his support for tougher workplace enforcement of immigration laws in a statement on Thursday. Smith would like to see employer participation in E-Verify become mandatory.

“With unemployment over 9 percent now for 21 months, jobs are scarce and families are worried,” Smith said. “Seven million people are working in the U.S. illegally. These jobs should go to legal workers.”

“One effective program to help ensure jobs are reserved for citizens and legal workers is E-Verify,” Smith said.

Critics of E-Verify say the database can give misleading information, and that erroneous data that would lead an employer to believe that a lawful worker is here illegally could prompt to a wrongful firing.

Critics also say that some groups, such as Latinos and other minorities, might be put under greater, baseless scrutiny by employers because of their surname or accent.
Smith acknowledged there are concerns about E-Verify.

“But the fact remains that E-Verify is a very effective tool for employers who want to hire legal workers,” he said.

Farmworker Justice is one of the latest groups to call for something to be done for industries that rely on undocumented workers.

Enforcement alone will not solve the challenges farmworkers face nor provide employers with the stable, productive workforce they need,” the group’s statement said.

“Our nation’s broken immigration system needs a lasting solution, which must include a path to immigration status.”

Elizabeth.Llorente@FoxNewsLatino.com

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