My issues with the new regulations don't take the protectionist bent that others bring up. US farmworkers deserve jobs that pay a living wage and allow workers to unionize along with migrant farmworkers.  Incoming migrant workers are especially in need of work, thanks to the US corporations that dominate our food system, exploit farmworkers abroad and unfairly prevent subsistence farmers from making a living.  Immigrant farmworkers who have been displaced by US farm subsidies and exploited by US corporations such as Wal-Mart, Dole, Del Monte and Nestle who pay poverty wages have no choice but to migrate. BUT WHEN IMMIGRANTS WORK IN THE US, THEY DESERVE JOB STABILITY, THE RIGHT TO ORGANIZE AND BARGAIN COLLECTIVELY, AND A LIVING WAGE just as much as American workers. The new H2A regulations undermine labor rights for both US citizens and immigrants workers.

Another example of immigrant exploitation is the pineapple industry in Costa Rica, dominated by Dole and Del Monte, where subcontracting schemes take advantage of migrant workers from Nicaragua. These workers are denied the right to organize for better wages and working conditions so they often end up migrating to the US where they are also exploited.

Hopefully, the Obama administration will bring real change to our global food system by bringing comprehensive immigration reform, overhauling our nations' farm policies, and making global trade rules fair through better labor rights enforcement mechanisms.