New Bills Seek to Increase Protection of Immigrants' Privacy; 'Blue Card' for Undocumented Farm Workers
Reports have it that new bills were introduced which seek to heighten the protection of immigrants' privacy and to allow undocumented farm workers to get a temporary "blue card" while they make arrangements for their legal papers of citizenship or residency.
The bill that wants to protect immigrants' privacy was introduced recently by Oregon legislators Rep. Teresa Alonso Leon (D-Woodburn) and Rep. Diego Hernandez (D-Portland) at the request of Gov. Kate Brown and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, according to Oregon Live.
Once legislated, the bill will not allow schools, companies and other institutions to just give out immigrants' personal information unless the request is supported by an existing law.
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Since the intensified crackdown, state forces get information on the whereabouts of targeted immigrants by asking for their school, home, or work address, even when most of them have no criminal records or are not in any situation that should subject them for questioning.
The bill seeks to also prohibit the sharing of other personal information related to targeted immigrants such as their appointments to public offices or agencies, the identity of their relatives as well their contact numbers.
Rep. Alonso Leon said in a statement: "I have heard from children who are afraid to go to school in the morning, because they aren't sure if their parents will be home at the end of the day."
On the other hand, a new bill to protect immigrant farmworkers is also trying to make its way to the floor. Specifically, it seeks to provide temporary legal status (also referred to as a "blue card") while they fix their citizenship or immigration papers, according to HuffPost.
Undocumented farm workers actually make up more than half of the workforce for the said sector. According to the National Farm Worker Ministry: "It is estimated that at least 6 out of 10 of our country's farm workers are undocumented. ... The vast majority of workers–78%, according to the most recent National Agricultural Workers Survey– is foreign-born and crossed a border to get here."
The said bill, S.1034 or the Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2017, was sponsored by California senator Dianne Feinstein and U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez.
Similar pieces of legislation about the blue card have been submitted before and even solicited bipartisan support. However, just when it is needed most, reports have it that only a few Democrats have agreed to co-sponsor the bill, while some suggest that it is unlikely to get support from the Republicans.
