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By Jordan Allyn, Yakima Herald-Republic

All eight candidates running for the 4th Congressional District seat in Central Washington list immigration as a top priority. They have strong opinions about border control and farmworker visa programs.

Immigration policy has significant ramifications in Central Washington, from agricultural labor to the H-2A guest worker program to citizenship paths.

U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, a Republican from Sunnyside, is facing challenges from fellow Republicans Jerrod Sessler and Tiffany Smiley. Mary Baechler, Barry Knowles and "Birdie" Jane Muchlinski are running as Democrats with Benny "BG3" Garcia filing as an independent and John Malan as a pro-Trump MAGA Democrat.

Ballots will be sent to voters this week. The top two candidates in the Aug. 6 primary, regardless of party, advance to the November general election.

With regard to immigration policy, Newhouse said he used to be frustrated that border security concerns got too frequently linked with agricultural labor reform. He has since decided to embrace that fact and work on solutions to tackle both issues at once. Newhouse co-sponsored a bill called the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021. He said the bill takes “a great step in relieving the pressure on the border and taking away the incentive for people to come into this country illegally.”

The bill proposes to establish certified agricultural worker status that lasts for 5½ years and can be extended to permanent resident status. It also makes changes to the H-2A visa program such as requiring employers to guarantee minimum work hours and making the program available for agricultural work that is not temporary or seasonal.

Washington Farm Labor Association CEO Enrique Gastelum supports Newhouse’s work in Congress. While he doesn’t agree with all components of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, Gastelum said Newhouse has “always been a proponent for the agricultural industry in Central Washington.”

However, Edgar Franks, the political director for the farmworker union Familias Unidas por la Justicia AFL-CIO, said Newhouse protects growers’ interests above the needs of farmworkers. He thinks the Farm Workforce Modernization Act hurts workers by making them wait eight years to apply for permanent residency.

In Gastelum’s experience, a small percentage of H-2A workers use the program as a launching point to acquire full-time citizenship. Gastelum said they usually benefit from gaining money in the U.S. with more purchasing power when they return to their home country.

Likewise, Franks thinks the H-2A program and other agriculture visas should not be conflated with immigration reform at the southern border, arguing that a person’s eligibility for citizenship should not be solely dependent on their employer.

For whoever occupies the congressional seat next term, Gastelum wants to see fewer federal regulations and reduced oversight for farmers employing temporary workers using H-2A.

“From ever-increasing wages, to the safety and health requirements, to the worker benefits, paid sick leave, paid family and medical leave long-term care (FMLA), human rights, sexual harassment — I mean, the list goes on and on and on,” Gastelum said. “Many of the things are well-intentioned. There comes a point where you take the competitiveness of a U.S. farmer away.”

Franks, on the other hand, wants regulations in place to protect farmworkers: “Of course, we want regulations that are strong and the best that we can have here in Washington that hopefully could serve as a model for the nation.”

He noted that the district has a large Latino and immigrant population.

“I think what I'm saying here is very reflective of the concerns and the needs of the Latino community and the immigrant community in the area,” he said.

Different organizations help immigrants through the electoral process like Ella, La Casa Hogar and Poder Latinx to mobilize underrepresented voters. Over the past few years, turnout among voters with Spanish surnames in the Yakima Valley has been below 20%.

Poder Latinx Washington state coordinator Mark Anthony Figueroa said the group’s work in Central Washington seeks to fill gaps of civic consciousness. The organization trains people on how to fill out their ballots and how to register to vote. In the past four months, the group has registered more than 500 new voters in the 4th Congressional District.

“Latinos know that their voice and vote can pave a way to better representation, policies and, ultimately, a better future for their families and communities,” he said in an email.

Below are each of the 4th Congressional District candidates’ positions on immigration and agricultural labor reform, in reverse alphabetical order.

Tiffany Smiley

Republican, Pasco

Smiley wants to continue former President Donald Trump’s border security efforts.

“We need to make sure that the wall is finished and funded because we know that will stop the invasion and the drugs that are coming in across our southern border,” she said.

She attributes the rising U.S. importation of fentanyl to the increased number of refugees. According to Border Patrol data and the LA Times, 90% of the fentanyl smuggled at the border in recent years was at legal crossings and 91% of the seizures were from U.S. citizens.

Like Gastelum, she said that regulations are hurting Washington farmers.

“You look at our economy and the rising wages and farmers are having a hard time keeping up with it,” Smiley said. She plans to share farmer concerns with Congress, including the need for more funding of the Columbia River Water Project.

Jerrod Sessler

Republican, Prosser

In terms of the border, “I support deporting the invaders,” Sessler said. He thinks the executive branch has too much authority and needs to be reined in when it comes to immigration policy.

For agricultural labor, he agrees with Smiley and Gastelum. “The biggest problems we have at the H-2A program have to do with the burdensome regulations that gets piled on the farmers and everybody within the agricultural community.”

He said the amount of regulations prevent the farmers from selling their products at a competitive value.

“We've essentially made (farmworkers) into victims and we've enacted regulations that protect them. And I'm not saying that they should be exploited, but I think the free market system will balance it out,” Sessler said.

Dan Newhouse

Republican, Sunnyside

Newhouse thinks the border was better managed 3½ years ago when Trump was in office. “We've got to slow down as much as possible and stop the illegal entry of millions of people,” Newhouse said.

He believes that agricultural worker visa programs can address issues at the border by creating a legal path to citizenship. He wants to continue advocating for the Farm Workforce Modernization Act and create improvements to the H-2A program.

'Birdie' Jane Muchlinski

Democrat, Richland

Muchlinski was disappointed Congress didn’t pass the recent immigration reform bill. “In my mind that is wasteful spending to employ people that had the opportunity to make change and had the opportunity to put something into place and they chose not to,” she said.

Her brother is a border patrol officer in Arizona. From his stories, she sees the situation at the border as “quite scary and to see that many people coming across the border is concerning.”

She thinks that all countries need to work together to find a solution because the increased number of refugees is affecting borders across the globe. “It's not one country's responsibility to carry all that weight,” said Muchlinski.

John Malan

MAGA Democrat, Grant County

Malan wants to close the border and deport all illegal immigrants. “My wife is a legal immigrant," he said. "She came in through the front door, she didn't come in through the back door. The Bible says anyone that comes through the back door is a thief and a robber.”

In regard to agriculture, he says farmworker wages need to be increased to attract U.S. citizens to the trade. He also thinks the Department of Agriculture should have less control over what crops farmers can grow.

“I don't fully have a grasp on all of the issues related to agriculture, but I think I'm pretty intelligent. I can catch on pretty fast,” Malan said.

Barry Knowles

Democrat, Covington and Yakima

Knowles thinks the “border is such a mess.” He supports deportation of any undocumented immigrants that have come to the U.S. in the last four years and believes undocumented immigrants are taking away social welfare resources from U.S. citizens.

He approves of the H-2A program, but wants it to include more subsidies. “And I think it could be increased where they could stay a little longer. And I don't mind their families coming with them. We count on these people and they count on us.”

Knowles wants to raise tariffs on Chinese products and give the money back to farmers and farmworkers. “This is the Democrat side of me coming out right here. These are the people I'm for.”

Benny 'BG3' Garcia

Independent, Grandview

Garcia wants to create more security along the border. He looks to former President Ronald Reagan’s Immigration Reform and Control Act for inspiration. He thinks that immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for 10 years and demonstrated the ability to be a “good citizen” should receive citizenship.

He also believes college-educated undocumented immigrants should be granted amnesty as well. As a former teacher, he was shocked to discover ways in which his students struggled to become citizens. “We want to have the process become faster. It shouldn't take maybe 10 to 20 years to become a citizen.”

Garcia supports the H-2A program but wants to ensure American workers are hired first. “We need to protect No. 1, our American citizens.”

Mary Baechler

Democrat, Yakima

Baechler supported the U.S. Citizenship Act. She was disappointed when President Joe Biden’s recent bipartisan immigration bill did not pass. “I don't understand it because the Republicans talk a lot about securing the border, and they go down there for the photo ops,” Baechler said. “And then the Republicans wouldn't work on (the bill) after helping create it.”

She believes there needs to be more security at the border because of the growing housing crisis and is concerned that more refugees will seek asylum as climate change worsens.

Baechler supports the H-2A program as a way to address Washington worker shortages. But she wants to make sure that the program doesn’t drive down wages for domestic workers.