89R27284 KSM-D     By: Johnson, Perry S.C.R. No. 50       CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, Legal immigrants provide critical services in some   of the most important and often understaffed sectors, such as the   meat and dairy industries, agriculture, the food supply chain,   manufacturing, and construction; and          WHEREAS, In the World War II era, shortages of seasonal labor   prompted the federal government to create the H-2 temporary work   visa program, which today has two categories; employers can fill   seasonal agricultural jobs with foreign workers on H-2A visas,   while foreign workers on H-2B visas can be hired to fill temporary   jobs in other sectors, among them landscaping, forestry, seafood   processing, and hospitality; and          WHEREAS, Before utilizing the H-2 programs, employers must   make a concerted effort to hire qualified American workers for   their open positions and ensure that the guest worker will not   adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly   employed U.S. workers; although employers need to hire workers   quickly to complete harvests and other seasonal tasks, the H-2   application process for certification by the Department of Labor is   costly and cumbersome, and the extensive documentation required   includes the disclosure of company information; and          WHEREAS, The H-2B program has a statutory numerical limit on   the total number of guest worker visas issued annually, even as the   rate of job openings among the top five H-2B occupations has   continued to grow, according to the Department of Labor's Job   Openings and Labor Turnover Surveys; in this decade, the fiscal   year cap has been reached consistently at an early stage,   threatening to shut out employers whose peak seasons occur in late   fall and winter; U.S. senators on both sides of the aisle have   joined in appeals to the Department of Labor and Department of   Homeland Security for the release of supplemental H-2B visas; and          WHEREAS, Friction in the guest worker program and burgeoning   workforce shortages have driven many businesses to employ   undocumented migrant workers in order to meet the demand for goods   and services; the situation is likely to grow even more   complicated, and employers should not be forced to choose between   breaking the law, operating with an insufficient workforce, or   outsourcing to other countries; and          WHEREAS, Labor scarcity and illegal immigration are   perpetual problems in the United States, and expanding and   streamlining the guest worker program would effect positive change   in both these regards; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to reform the   federal guest worker program; and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official   copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to   the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of   Representatives of the United States Congress, to the secretary of   the Department of Labor, to the secretary of the Department of   Homeland Security, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to   the congress with the request that this resolution be entered in the   Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United   States of America.