In the face of skyrocketing unemployment, the\nfederal government continues to put foreign workers on a fast track for U.S.\nagricultural jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo authorized consular officers to\nwaive the visa interview requirement for first-time and returning H-2\n(semi-skilled, blue-collar) applicants, including farm workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe anticipate the vast majority of otherwise qualified H-2 applicants will now be adjudicated without an interview,\u201d Pompeo wrote in a March 26 memo<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chad Wolf<\/a>, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, pitched in last month by raising the limit on H-2B (non-agricultural) visas. On Thursday, Wolf tweeted that he had put his order on hold, but Pompeo\u2019s directive stands, even as nearly 10 million Americans filed new unemployment claims<\/a> over the past two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amidst the rapidly rising tide of joblessness, Fox News<\/a> reported \u201cthere has been a particular focus on the H-2A [agricultural]program recently due to questions about the food supply in a time of the coronavirus crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe failure to take necessary action to protect our food supply will result in bare shelves in grocery store produce aisles, not from panic buying, but as the result of the federal government directly causing a shortage of critical labor,\u201d the Agriculture Workforce Coalition <\/a>stated in a March 17 letter to Pompeo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, farm companies hired roughly 250,000 H-2A foreign workers.\nWith no cap on such visas, and relentless pressure from the industry, Pompeo\u2019s\nwaiver opens the door to criminals and other miscreants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n