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When Congress returned from spring recess, lawmakers were greeted by a flurry of protests about immigration reform. The goal of the pro-immigration protests was to break a legislative impasse in the Senate over immigration reform.

Whether the protests had an impact remains to be seen, but it’s clear that immigration reform is a hot topic in the United States, said Adam Sharp, OFBF’s director of national affairs.

"This is one of the most controversial, contentious issues that the Senate has taken up in a long time," he said. "Everybody is very opinionated about the issue."

As of press time, the Senate had not agreed on an immigration reform bill. A bipartisan deal fell apart in early April because of bickering by both Republicans and Democrats. The Senate was expected to renew the debate starting the week of May 15 with a goal of reaching a compromise by Memorial Day, Sharp said.

The House has already passed an immigration reform bill that emphasizes border security and does not include a guest-worker plan. The Senate is stuck on whether to expand the guest-worker program and to allow some illegal immigrants to apply for citizenship. The United States has about 11 million illegal immigrants.

"There has to be compromise. You can’t just have a tall wall and strong enforcement and ignore the fact that you’ve got 11 million illegal immigrants in the country," Sharp said.

Farm Bureau has been vocal in emphasizing that any changes to U.S. immigration laws not negatively impact agriculture. Of the more than 1 million temporary agricultural workers, about half are undocumented workers, according to Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). Without an adequate temporary worker program, a third of U.S. fruit and vegetable production could be lost to foreign competition, according to AFBF. OFBF estimates that 17 percent of Ohio's farm labor force could disappear without an effective guest-worker program.

"We need to figure out a way to transition the undocumented workers that are currently here and working in agriculture," Stallman said. "We can’t just pack them all up across the border. We need to figure out a way for them to stay here and continue to work in agriculture."

OFBF has been talking with Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine, who is on the primary committee of jurisdiction in the Senate, about the need for a workable guest-worker program. Farm Bureau also has been in close contact with House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, who has indicated that he may be open to a revised guest-worker program but not citizenship for illegal immigrants.

"Agriculture is more dependent than any other industry sector on migrant labor," Stallman said. "We need an adequate guest-worker program for the future. We have a guest-worker program but it has a lot of flaws."