Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that lays the groundwork for a permanent residency program for undocumented farmworkers.
Senate Bill 831 enables the governor to work with the Biden administration on a pathway for California to identify farmworkers as essential workers and give them permission to work and stay in the U.S. The pilot program would establish criteria for agricultural employees to be eligible for lawful permanent resident status if they have lived in the country for five years, have good moral character and have not committed a crime.
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The author, Senator Anna Caballero of Merced, called the bill’s passage “a victory for rural communities and families.”
California Citrus Mutual and the California Fresh Fruit Association supported the measure alongside farmworker groups. It had passed along party lines.
