I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2086 To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to simplify and rename the H–2C worker program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 19, 2021 Mr. CRAWFORD (for himself, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, and Mr. KELLY of Mis- sissippi) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to simplify and rename the H–2C worker program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Agricultural Guest 4 Worker Reform Initiative Act of 2021’’ or as the ‘‘AGRI 5 Act of 2021’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:53 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2086.IH H2086 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2086 IH SEC. 2. IN GENERAL. 1 (a) INCLUSION OF DAIRY OR RANCH WORKERS.— 2 Section 101(a)(15)(H) of the Immigration and Nationality 3 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)) is amended by inserting 4 ‘‘labor on a dairy or ranch and’’ before ‘‘agricultural labor 5 defined in’’. 6 (b) ELIMINATION OF 50 PERCENT RULE.—Section 7 218(c)(3) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(c)(3)) is amended— 8 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘(A)’’; and 9 (2) by striking subparagraph (B). 10 (c) WAGE RATE.—Section 218(a)(1)(B) of such Act 11 (8 U.S.C. 1188(a)(1)(B)) is amended by striking the pe- 12 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘, except that no employer 13 shall be required to pay a wage rate greater than the 14 greatest of the Federal, State, and local minimum wage 15 rates.’’. 16 (d) LEGAL ASSISTANCE FROM THE LEGAL SERVICES 17 CORPORATION; EXPEDITED PROCEDURES FOR REPLACE- 18 MENT OF AN ABSCONDED WORKER.—Section 218(h) of 19 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(h)) is amended by adding at the 20 end the following: 21 ‘‘(3)(A) The Legal Services Corporation may not pro- 22 vide legal assistance for, or on behalf of, any alien, and 23 may not provide financial assistance to any person or enti- 24 ty that provides legal assistance for, or on behalf of, any 25 alien, unless— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:53 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2086.IH H2086 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2086 IH ‘‘(i) the alien is present in the United States at 1 the time the legal assistance is provided; and 2 ‘‘(ii) the parties to the dispute have attempted, 3 in good faith, mediation or other non-binding dis- 4 pute resolution of all issues involving all such par- 5 ties. 6 ‘‘(B) If an employer and a nonimmigrant having sta- 7 tus under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) have an arbitration 8 arrangement, the Legal Services Corporation shall respect 9 the arbitration process and outcome. 10 ‘‘(C) No employer of a nonimmigrant having status 11 under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) shall be required to 12 permit any recipient of a grant or contract under section 13 1007 of the Legal Services Corporation Act (42 U.S.C. 14 2996f), or any employee of such a recipient, to enter upon 15 the employer’s property, unless such recipient or employee 16 has a pre-arranged appointment with a specific non- 17 immigrant having such status. 18 ‘‘(4) If any agricultural guest worker absconds from 19 his or her place of employment, the Secretary of Home- 20 land Security, in coordination with the Secretary of State, 21 the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Labor, 22 shall establish expedited procedures for permitting the em- 23 ployer to import a agricultural guest worker to replace the 24 absconded worker.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:53 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2086.IH H2086 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2086 IH (e) LENGTH OF STAY.—Section 218 of such Act (8 1 U.S.C. 1188) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 2 lowing: 3 ‘‘(j) LENGTH OF STAY.—An agricultural guest work- 4 er who enters the United States may remain in the United 5 States for a period of not more than 11 months. The agri- 6 cultural guest worker may not enter the United States on 7 an additional visa under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(c) un- 8 less the agricultural guest worker first returns to that 9 worker’s country of origin for a period of not less than 10 1 month. An agricultural guest worker may enter and re- 11 main in the United States for a total of not more than 12 3 years.’’. 13 (f) HOUSING.—Section 218(c)(4) of such Act (8 14 U.S.C. 1188(c)(4)) is amended to read as follows: 15 ‘‘(4) HOUSING.—Except for agricultural guest 16 workers who are reasonably able to return to their 17 permanent residence (either within or outside the 18 United States) within the same day, the employer 19 will provide housing to agricultural guest workers 20 through one of the following means: 21 ‘‘(A) Employer-owned housing in accord- 22 ance with regulations promulgated by the Sec- 23 retary of Agriculture. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:53 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2086.IH H2086 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2086 IH ‘‘(B) Rental or public accommodations or 1 other substantially similar class of habitation in 2 accordance with regulations promulgated by the 3 Secretary of Agriculture. 4 ‘‘(C) Except where the Governor of the 5 State has certified that there is inadequate 6 housing available in the area of intended em- 7 ployment for migrant farm workers and agricul- 8 tural guest workers seeking temporary housing 9 while employed in agricultural work, the em- 10 ployer may furnish the worker with a housing 11 voucher in accordance with regulations, if— 12 ‘‘(i) the employer has verified that 13 housing is available for the period during 14 which the work is to be performed, within 15 a reasonable commuting distance of the 16 place of employment, for the amount of the 17 voucher provided, and that the voucher is 18 useable for that housing; 19 ‘‘(ii) upon the request of a worker 20 seeking assistance in locating housing for 21 which the voucher will be accepted, the em- 22 ployer makes a good faith effort to assist 23 the worker in identifying, locating, and se- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:53 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2086.IH H2086 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2086 IH curing housing in the area of intended em- 1 ployment; and 2 ‘‘(iii) payment for the housing is made 3 with a housing voucher that is only re- 4 deemable by the housing owner or their 5 agent. 6 An employer who provides housing through one of 7 the foregoing means shall not be deemed a housing 8 provider under section 203 of the Migrant and Sea- 9 sonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 10 1823) by virtue of providing such housing.’’. 11 (g) ABSCONDING ALIENS.—Section 218(f) of such 12 Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(f)) is amended by adding at the end 13 the following: ‘‘If the alien absconds, the employer shall 14 not be liable for any violation of this section. The employer 15 may, in a civil action, recover any costs of transportation 16 paid to the alien and any fees paid pertaining to the im- 17 porting of the alien.’’. 18 (h) BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION CARD.—The Sec- 19 retary of Homeland Security shall provide each non- 20 immigrant agricultural worker with an identification card 21 that contains— 22 (1) an encrypted, machine-readable, electronic 23 identification strip that is unique to the alien to 24 whom the card is issued; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:53 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2086.IH H2086 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2086 IH (2) biometric identifiers, including fingerprints 1 and a digital photograph; and 2 (3) physical security features designed to pre- 3 vent tampering, counterfeiting, or duplication of the 4 card for fraudulent purposes. 5 (i) TRUST FUND.— 6 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agri- 7 culture shall establish by regulation a trust fund the 8 purpose of which is to provide, without further ap- 9 propriation, funds for the administration and the en- 10 forcement of the program under this section, for the 11 cost of the cards issued under subsection (k), for a 12 monetary incentive for nonimmigrant agricultural 13 workers to return to their country of origin upon ex- 14 piration of their visas under the program, and for 15 payment with respect to emergency medical services 16 furnished to nonimmigrant agricultural workers. The 17 Secretary of Agriculture in consultation with the 18 Secretary of the Treasury shall promulgate such 19 other regulations as may be necessary to carry out 20 this subsection. 21 (2) PAYMENT OF FICA AND FUTA AMOUNTS 22 INTO TRUST FUND.—In the case of employment of 23 a nonimmigrant agricultural worker— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:53 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2086.IH H2086 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2086 IH (A) the employer shall provide for payment 1 into the trust fund established under paragraph 2 (1) of the sum of— 3 (i) an amount equivalent to the 4 amount of excise taxes which the employer 5 would pay under chapter 21 of the Internal 6 Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to such 7 employment if it were considered employ- 8 ment for the purpose of such Act; and 9 (ii) an amount equivalent to (and in 10 lieu of) the amount of excise taxes which 11 the employer would otherwise pay under 12 chapter 23 of such Code with respect to 13 such employment; and 14 (B) there shall be deducted from the wages 15 of the worker and paid into such trust fund an 16 amount equivalent to the amount of excise taxes 17 that the employee would pay under such chap- 18 ter 21 with respect to such employment if it 19 were considered employment for the purposes of 20 such Act. 21 (3) EXPENDITURES FROM TRUST FUND.— 22 (A) USE OF EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS 23 FOR ADMINISTRATION.—Amounts described in 24 paragraph (2)(A) paid into the trust fund shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:53 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2086.IH H2086 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2086 IH be used for the purpose of administering and 1 enforcing the program under this section and 2 for the cost of the cards issued under sub- 3 section (k). 4 (B) USE OF EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS 5 FOR REPAYMENT OF EMPLOYEE CONTRIBU- 6 TIONS UPON RETURN TO COUNTRY OF ORI- 7 GIN.—Except as provided in subparagraph (C), 8 amounts described in paragraph (2)(B) paid 9 into the trust fund with respect to a non- 10 immigrant agricultural worker shall, upon ap- 11 plication by the worker at the United States 12 consulate nearest the worker’s residence in the 13 country of origin, be paid to the worker if the 14 worker demonstrates the compliance of the 15 worker with the terms and conditions of the 16 program. 17 (C) USE OF EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS 18 ATTRIBUTABLE TO HI TAXES FOR EMERGENCY 19 MEDICAL SERVICES FOR NONIMMIGRANT AGRI- 20 CULTURAL WORKERS.— 21 (i) IN GENERAL.—Amounts described 22 in paragraph (2)(B) paid into the trust 23 fund which relate to excise tax in section 24 3101(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:53 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2086.IH H2086 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2086 IH 1986 shall be used to provide payment 1 with respect to emergency medical services 2 (as defined in clause (iii)) for non- 3 immigrant agricultural workers. 4 (ii) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary 5 of Agriculture shall establish rules, in con- 6 sultation with the Secretary of Health and 7 Human Services, with respect to the pay- 8 ments under this subparagraph, including 9 methods for determining qualifications for 10 payment and the amount of payment to be 11 made with respect to emergency medical 12 services. 13 (iii) EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES 14 DEFINED.—In this subparagraph, the term 15 ‘‘emergency medical services’’ means those 16 items and services required to be provided 17 under section 1867 of the Social Security 18 Act (42 U.S.C. 1395dd) with respect to an 19 individual who is a nonimmigrant agricul- 20 tural worker and does not include items 21 and services for which coverage under 22 workers’ compensation is required under 23 subsection (f)(3) with respect to the work- 24 er. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:53 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2086.IH H2086 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2086 IH (j) SEMIANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Sec- 1 retary of Agriculture shall report to Congress semiannu- 2 ally regarding the program under this section. Each such 3 report shall include a statement of the number of non- 4 immigrant visas issued under the program, an evaluation 5 of the effectiveness of the program, a description of any 6 problems related to the enforcement of the program, and 7 any recommendations for legislation relating to the pro- 8 gram. 9 (k) PROGRAM NAME AND ADMINISTRATOR 10 CHANGED.—Section 218 of the Immigration and Nation- 11 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188), as amended by this Act, is fur- 12 ther amended— 13 (1) by striking ‘‘H–2A worker’’ each place it 14 appears and inserting ‘‘agricultural guest worker’’; 15 and 16 (2) by striking ‘‘Secretary of Labor’’ each place 17 it appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Agriculture’’. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:53 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2086.IH H2086 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS