This paper examines the impact of farm labor contractors (FLCs) on U.S. immigration, labor, and civil rights policy. It describes the evolution and operation of FLCs and discusses two proposals to either eliminate or to better regulate FLC operations. The authors note that the status quo promises that many new entrants to the U.S. workforce find employment under the "harvest of shame" conditions that the United States has been trying to eliminate for decades. Also discussed are the employer sanctions introduced by the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) and its effect on FLCs.
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