Ag Policy Blog

Noting that almost 7,000 U.S. farmworkers originate from South Africa, the American Farm Bureau Federation, along with more than 60 other agriculture groups, told the Biden administration on Monday that they should be exempted from travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 omicron variant.

In a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the groups noted that the "Proclamation on Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who Pose a Risk of Transmitting Coronavirus Disease 2019" prohibits travel for individuals from several countries, including South Africa, due to concerns over the omicron variant, but said that the workers are desperately needed on farms.

The letter requests flexibility in regard to the "Proclamation on Advancing the Safe Resumption of Global Travel During the COVID-19 Pandemic," which limits entry into the United States to only those fully vaccinated with a CDC-approved vaccine with limited exceptions and requests that the agencies "ensure access to these essential members of the agricultural workforce by giving National Interest Exceptions to H-2A workers coming to the United States as outlined in the proclamations as an exception to the travel restrictions."

The letter states, "Instead of imposing travel bans that prevent critically needed H-2A workers from traveling to American farms or lead to added transportation costs that do not achieve COVID mitigation goals, farmers, H-2A workers, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department should work together to allow workers taking appropriate health and safety precautions to travel to the United States directly from their home countries."

Workers should be able to travel directly to the United States and can be vaccinated here with a CDC-approved vaccine, the groups said. The letter noted that the majority of the South African workers arrive in the United States in February, March and April. "Many of these H-2A workers have a unique skillset, and American farmers are counting on their timely arrival as they make plans for their upcoming growing seasons," the groups said, contending that the request for National Interest Exemptions is bolstered by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency designation of food and agricultural workers as essential during the pandemic.

"While protecting our nation from new variants of COVID-19 is critically important, it is in our national interest to ensure production of food, fuel and fiber," the letter continues. "Considering the severe supply chain disruptions taking place, losing access to key employees who originate from these countries because of travel restrictions would further limit agriculture's ability to grow safe and nutritious food."

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the omicron variant appears more resistant to the Pfizer vaccine used in South Africa, but the variant also "appears to cause less severe illness than earlier variants of the coronavirus." https://www.washingtonpost.com/…

The coalition's full letter: https://www.fb.org/…

Jerry Hagstrom can be reached at jhagstrom@nationaljournal.com

Follow him on Twitter @hagstromreport

(c) Copyright 2021 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.