WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-22) voted in support of H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act. Rep. Valadao secured language in the bill that ensures any adverse impacts of E-Verify related to the agriculture sector are considered and addressed before its full implementation.

“Many industries in the Central Valley, including agriculture, rely heavily on immigrant labor. While these workers play an essential role in feeding America, many of them live in fear because of our broken immigration system,” said Congressman Valadao. “We need to ensure our farmers have access to a legal and reliable workforce and streamline the process for the future flow of workers. Mandating E-Verify without first addressing the problems with our H-2A program will have an impact on our agricultural communities.

“With that being said, what we’re seeing at our border is a humanitarian and national security crisis, with over 1.3 million known evaded apprehensions in the last two years and record amounts of fentanyl harming our communities. The Biden administration has failed to secure the border, and with Title 42 expiring today the situation is only going to become more dire.

“After working closely with House leadership to address my concerns about mandating E-Verify before making reforms to the H-2A program, we were able to secure language in the border security bill to address E-Verify, and a commitment from leadership to continue working toward solutions.

“We won’t be able to make necessary reforms to our immigration system with the current humanitarian and national security crisis we’re experiencing at the border. I will continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reform our broken immigration system, provide certainty for our farmers and farm workers, and secure the border."

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