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U.S. Rep. William "Bill" Keating, a Democrat from Bourne, will face Republican challenger Jesse Brown, of Plymouth, this November, as the congressman tries for a seventh term representing the Cape and Islands in Congress.

The 9th District includes 46 municipalities that stretch from Norwell to New Bedford and encompasses Cape Cod and the Islands.

More: State election is coming up. Everything you need about voting this fall

Elected for two-year terms, representatives serve within the U.S. House of Representatives that creates federal laws. They typically introduce bills and resolutions, offer amendmentsand serve on committees.

The general election is Nov. 8.

The Cape Cod Times asked both candidates about their stance onimmigration, abortionand healthcare.

Brown pointed to the opioid crisis when asked how the lack of immigration reform has hurt Cape Cod and the Islands. Opioid deaths have risen 9% in Massachusetts, he said.

"Itallows the drugs to flow over that southwest border where the majority of the Fentanyl and heroin comes from," he said.

Brown called himself a strong supporter of securing the southern border, saying "they're undermanned" and need more funding to provide more personnel patrolling the border.

A broken immigration system leaves Cape and Islands' restaurants, hotelsand other businesses without adequate staffing, Keating said, noting hospitality is the region's leading industry.

More: Brown faces Keating in congressional race this November. What to expect

We need workers. Everywhere Ive gone in our region, its always in the top-three topics of discussion: We dont have workers, he said. We had to fight tooth and nail it shouldnt be a partisan issue, but it has been with H2B and J1 workers, making sure they are there for the season.

The House passed a bill that would create a path to permanent status for DACA recipients and other undocumented immigrants, such as young people who came to the U.S. as children after 2007, Keating said, but the Senate has yet to act on it.

On both sides, there are people who will not be satisfied, but we can forge common sense changes that improve the system and allow for a quicker legal immigration system to work and make sure at the border were processing people faster, dealing with issues and making sure its more secure. We can do these things together, Keating said.

As a congressman, Keating said he voted in support of a bill protecting abortion rights in July, but noted the Senate did not move to act on the bill. The move followed the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade in late June.

The watershed Dobbs v.Jackson Women's Health Organizationdecision overturned Roe v. Wade and eraseda reproductive right the high court established nearly five decades ago.

"People believe that those choices have to remain with a woman and her doctor," Keating said.

He also pointed to Justice Clarence Thomas' concurring opinion, which said the Supreme Court "should reconsider" past rulings that codified rights to contraception, same-sex relationshipsand same-sex marriage.

What to know: Candidates to represent Cape & Islands in Congress answer questions

"This is something where not only is the government in the doctor's office they're in the bedroom, too, with this decision," Keating said.

Brown said the overturning of Roe v. Wade brought the power back to the states and "it's completed."

"I mean, that's in a completely different branch of government that I'm going to be in. What I've always said is Keating, my opponent, has been in that office long enough," Brown said. "There was always a chance that the Supreme Court could have overturned it and maybe he should have been working on that, so we wouldn't be in this situation."

Brown said he would not back a federal ban on abortion.

"One of my platforms is bringing the power back to the states," Brown said. "There's a lot of things that we need to bring power back to the states and power back to the people, not at the federal level."

Keating touted his support of the Inflation Reduction Act, which will allow for competitive pricing into Medicare and caps out-of-pocket expenses for individuals in Medicare to $2,000 a year.

These were budget busters for families and individuals highest inflationary factor in healthcare, Keating said.

Brown said he would like to see all Americans gain from the Veteran Administrations ability to negotiate lower prices for drugs.

More: Midterm election: Candidate profiles, voter information and more.

"We need to do that at a level that everybody in America can benefit from," Brown said.

He said he did not support the Inflation Reduction Act, saying his opposition stems from additional funding for the Internal Revenue Service.

Zane Razzaq writes about housing and real estate. Reach her at zrazzaq@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @zanerazz.

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Congressional race: Brown, Keating on immigration, abortion, healthcare - Cape Cod Times

Increased input costs for farmers and rising grocery prices for consumers are just some of the consequences of recent turns in the global commodity markets and rising costs of food processing, transportation and labor.

The Federal Reserve Banks of Minneapolis and Kansas City hosted a virtual forum on Oct. 7 to highlight ag and food inflation and the financial implications that come from it. The event was also meant as an opportunity to hear from industry leaders in the Midwest about how inflationary pressures are affecting supply chains.

Agriculture is more than just an economic driver for the seven-state region covered by the Kansas City Fed, as well as the Midwest states covered by the Ninth District Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said Nathan Kauffman an economist and vice president of the Kansas City Fed, whose role is to lead banking efforts in regards to research and outreach in agriculture.

The industry also serves as an important foundation to our nation's food supply, said Kauffman.

With farm production costs estimated to be about 25% higher this year than they were in 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and fertilizer costs anticipated to be on average about 50% higher than they were the last year what's causing the surge?

Kauffman said it's a combination of both supply and demand, but there are other factors such as labor shortages and transportation disruptions that have been key drivers of rising costs, he said.

Rising costs and the implications

Kaufmann explained how prices of agricultural products remained low and stable in the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prices increased less than a percent from 2016-20, according to USDA data. But with the pandemic came a surge by more than 50% in the last year and a half, he said.

However, the increase in prices across the board has led to a dramatic rebound in the U.S. agricultural economy, said Kauffman, with farm income expected to be one of the highest on record this year.

Supported by higher prices and increased profits, the value of farm real estate throughout the Midwest, just as one example, is more than 25% higher than before the pandemic, he said.

Economic conditions before the pandemic were leading to what Kauffman called gradual increases in financial stress in the ag industry. Many financial institutions are now reporting a sharp turnaround in the strength of their lending portfolios.

It is important to recognize that the U.S. farm economy is in a much stronger position than what it was before the pandemic, when there had been growing concerns about the industry's financial health, he said.

Consumers are feeling inflationary pressure on their grocery budgets, and the same factors driving up agricultural prices have also influenced the price customers pay for food.

Similar to production costs, from 2010 to 2020 food prices increased on average of nearly 2% per year, said Kauffman. Currently, food prices are more than 10% higher than a year ago, and have continued to rise in recent months.

A surge in commodity prices is only partly to blame for that, he said.

Less than 10% of the cost of food is determined by the cost of farm production, said Kauffman.

Costs associated with things like packaging, transportation and energy account for 10%, he explained, while processing accounts for about 17%, and wholesale and retail distribution costs comprise about 26%. Food service accounts for just shy of 30% of the total cost of food, according to Kauffman.

So while agricultural commodity prices are linked to food prices, especially on a global scale and perhaps for some food products in particular changes in ag prices have only a limited effect on the prices consumers pay for food, said Kaufmann.

Even once production costs begin to ease, Kauffman said that food prices may not decrease as quickly.

Given the importance of other factors that also affect the cost of food, he said.

Beth Ford, president and CEO of Land OLakes, shared how inflationary pressures impact the supply chain of the Fortune 200 food production company that is also a 100-year-old farmer-owned cooperative.

We see the whole value chain, from processing, farm level, all the way until retail, said Ford.

Ford urged Congress to move ahead with immigration reform during the Oct. 7 forum, which she said could relieve some of the labor problems putting the squeeze on the cooperative and industry as a whole. She said that labor is the biggest concern for Land O Lakes members and is the issue she hears most about from them.

Ford called on the U.S. Senate to take immediate action to finish work on the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.

Do it this season, she said of the window before midterm elections, after which any reform legislation would have to start over.

The Farm Workforce Modernization Act which would allow some annual permanent visas for agricultural guest workers and would make farm workers now in the country illegally able to be here legally was passed by the House in March 2021 but the bill and negotiations have stalled in the Senate.

We're a couple million workers short, so what will it take? said Ford.

She said what holds up immigration reform is a larger debate around border security, but the focus should instead be on U.S. farmers and ag workers.

I look at it obviously right at the farm level, for labor, and it has been a mainstay of our economy and economic growth, said Ford of U.S. labor You recognize the number of acres that don't get planted or harvested because there is no labor. We have a global food supply challenge, and we need to move past this and get to a pragmatic solution.

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Navigating ag and food inflation includes calls for immigration reform, speakers at Fed presentation say - Agweek

Keren Carrin / KERA News

Hispanics are now the largest ethnic demographic in Texas, comprising some 40 percent of the population. And candidates vying for seats in November have noticed.

Republicans have invested heavily in courting Latino voters. The Republican National Committee created several so-called Hispanic Community Centers across the state, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke recently visited the Rio Grande Valley with civil rights activist Dolores Huerta.

But what do Latino voters want?

The Texas Newsroom a collaboration between NPR and public radio stations across Texas wants to find out. Reporters from across the state have been asking Latino voters what they hope candidates know about them and their community, along with what they think elected officials should prioritize. Reporters have spoken to people at Astros games in Houston, the Barbacoa and Big Red Festival in San Antonio, and the gubernatorial debate in the Valley. Those interviews have been featured in stories around the state, and we'll continue to roll them out ahead of Election Day.

What voters have told us so far.

Like other voting blocs, Latinos in Texas are not single-issue voters. While campaigns often focus on immigration, especially on the state's southern border, it's not the only issue at the forefront of some voters' minds. Recent polling from the Pew Research Center shows that immigration is one of the key issues for Latinos but so are education, gun control, reproductive rights and the economy.

On a recent afternoon visiting the Bishops Arts District in Dallas, Vicente Reynoso and his partner Ofelia Gonzalez said gun rights, housing and immigration reform top their list of concerns heading into the November elections.

Gonzalez said it's time Texans stop embracing the attitude that nothing can be done on gun reform.

"It's not an excuse anymore to just be like, Oh, we can't do anything about it' or for us to be like Texas is Texas. We're going to keep on being us," she said. "We got to get it under control. I just think it's pretty ridiculous the way we're going about things right now."

Reynoso, who described himself as a centrist gun owner who supports the Second Amendment, thinks lawmakers search for an easy fix instead of addressing gun reform proposals

"There needs to be common sense gun laws. There is no reason I should be able to walk in (to a store) at 18, wait 15 minutes for a background check and walk out that same day with a firearm (and) unlimited amounts of ammo," he said. "I think we keep trying to put band-aids on these very deep issues that we just keep painting over and painting over every few years. I think we need to get to the root of these causes."

On immigration, Reynoso said he'd like candidates to go beyond the broad argument for immigration reform with realistic policy solutions.

"They never really make it clear exactly what they're going to do, they just say immigration reform," he said. "Give a clear plan, don't just throw it in peoples' faces and expect us to eat it up because it happens every four years."

Gonzalez added that she'd like to see fewer people priced out of their current housing due to increasing costs.

"The amount of people that are being left without places to live because of the skyrocketing rent, people that have been in their apartments forever that now can't afford to live where they have always lived," she said. "I don't know what can be done about that necessarily, but I just think it's gotten out of control."

For Patricia Mares, 44, a project manager from Spring, Texas, reproductive rights and school safety top her list of priorities.

"We need to be talking about the safety of our kids in schools, and I think we need to be talking about equal rights for women," she said.

Mares said there is a long list of issues to choose from but she has school-aged children and believes in a woman's right to choose. She'd also like candidates to be honest about their plans instead of offering quick fixes that don't necessarily address an issue.

"We need to focus on, how do we fix things at their core, versus maybe telling people what they want to hear," she said.

Camila Turrubiartes said her stance on abortion solidifies her support for Gov. Greg Abbott. Turrubiartes is originally from Mexico but has been in the United States for 30 years, she said. The Texas Newsroom spoke to her at Dallas' Plaza Latina.

"I am pro-life, and I am in favor of abolishing abortion completely. Right now I support Gov. Greg Abbott and in reality I think he's doing a good job," she said in Spanish.

Turrubiartes said Texas is right to secure its border.

"We are all welcome, but also if President Biden is the one creating all this then there should be a little more help for Texas. Abbott can't do everything," she said.

Turrubiartes aligns with moderates and with Democrats on guns.

"There are a lot of guns, and I am against guns. In reality, there are a lot of assaults" occurring, she said.

For Anjel Perez, who spoke to the Texas Newsroom at Plaza Latina, the state's power grid is on the top of his list of important issues. In 2021 more than 200 people died during a days-long storm that crippled the state's ability to supply most of Texas with heat and electricity. Democrat Beto O'Rourke has made the issue a hallmark of his campaign, and voters like Perez agree more needs to be done.

"There were a bunch of deaths that could have been avoided if our power grid had been better," he said. "A bunch of people died because of the cold, and others died because they had their generators inside and they died because of carbon monoxide poisoning. Little kids died, and it is just horrible to see."

Perez also thinks immigration is a key issue, but he isn't worried about border security. He said instead that the hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers who are fleeing violence or oppression in their home countries need more resources once they get to the United States.

"They are just here waiting and they are not getting their (needs met). These immigrants, they come here seeking asylum, but they don't get fair representation," he said.

What do you want candidates to consider between now and Election Day? Let us know! Click here to tell us what you would like elected officials to now.

Sergio Martnez-Beltrn and Andrew Schneider contributed reporting to this story.

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Everybody wants the Latino vote in Texas. But what do Latino voters want? - Houston Public Media

WASHINGTON, Oct. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) submitted a public commentin response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that seeks to significantly alter the physical document examination requirements associated with employment eligibility verification (Form I-9).

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) instituted temporary flexibilities and waived the physical examination of employment and identification documentation for employers facing a sudden and near-total shift to a remote workforce. The Biden administration now seeks the authority, on a discretionary basis, to cement those flexibilities when certain conditions are met.

"Any action taken under the authority provided by this rule, if finalized, will be viewed as an attempt to ease the requirements of employment verification. While a welcome change for employers contending with large-scale remote workforces, it will be abused by bad actors who will hide behind a far easier good faith compliance defense," wrote Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "With the unprecedented numbers of illegal alien apprehensions and encounters along the southern border and the ever-growing crisis that we are presently witnessing, the demand for work is high, and any attempt to diminish verification will be routinely used by smugglers, traffickers, and unscrupulous employers. Any authority used to weaken document verification requirements will erode the intend of the underlying statute aimed at ensuring that only lawful aliens are eligible to work in the United States."

Stein also noted that the proposed rule is arbitrary and overly broad. "It fails to justify any policy determination or provide a reasoned analysis at all. Accordingly, this regulatory amendment appears to be a solution in search of a problem. It is patently unclear why DHS believes that this change is necessary and, assuming arguendo that such authority is necessary, why it must be so broad," said Stein.

"FAIR strongly opposes this proposed rule and urges the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to withdraw it. Instead, DHS should promulgate regulations aimed at enhancing security and anti-fraud measures associated with the employment verification process and continually ensuring that, pursuant to statute, only lawful aliens are able to work in the United States," concluded Stein in the comment.

FAIR's full comment can be accessed here.

Contact: Ron Kovach, 202-328-7004 or [emailprotected].

ABOUT FAIR

Founded in 1979, FAIR is the country's largest immigration reform group. With over 3 million members and supporters nationwide, FAIR fights for immigration policies that serve national interests, not special interests. FAIR believes that immigration reform must enhance national security, improve the economy, protect jobs, preserve our environment, and establish a rule of law that is recognized and enforced.

SOURCE Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)

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Biden Administration's Attempt to Loosen Document Verification Would Clear the Path for Fraud and Unlawful Employment, Charges FAIR - PR Newswire

Public affairs strategist Vanessa Crdenas is set to take over the helm of Americas Voice, a leading immigration advocacy organization, replacing the organizations founder, Frank Sharry.

Crdenas, who has served as acting deputy director of the organization since Sharry announced his retirement in September, will take over as executive director of both Americas Voice (AV) and Americas Voice Educational Fund (AVEF).

Frank Sharrys contributions to this movement cannot be overstated and Vanessa Crdenas is the ideal candidate to shape the next chapter of Americas Voice in our growing and diversifying field, said Henry Fernandez, chair of the AV and the AVEF boards of directors.

Under her leadership, AV and AVEF are well positioned to remain formidable advocates for immigrants and to help the broader pro-immigrant movement use communications and advocacy to build the power necessary for change.

Founded by Sharry in 2008, AV has become one of the key voices on the left for the immigration movement, often bringing together activists, technical experts and advocates to make the case for immigration liberalization.

Crdenas will take over the group amid a changing landscape on immigration, with the issue at the center of political discourse and anti-immigrant rhetoric firmly in the political mainstream.

Call me an optimist, but I do believe that we have a chance to hopefully, finally, after some years do something affirmative on immigration and I really want to be part of that, Crdenas told The Hill.

Crdenas, who was born in Brooklyn to an undocumented Bolivian mother, mostly grew up in Bolivia before returning to the United States as a citizen, albeit one who lived immigrant experiences.

When I was about to go to college my senior year, when I wanted to go to college, I asked my counselor about it, and she looked at me, shes like, Vanessa, you cannot go because you dont have papers. I was like, no, no, no, I was actually born here, Crdenas told The Hill.

That was a key moment for me, because it crystallized what a difference having those papers meant for my life. Because that opened up those opportunities that 80 percent of my peers didnt have, she added.

As a U.S. citizen, Crdenas did go to college and was quickly hired by Sharry upon graduation.

I had the honor of hiring Vanessa right out of college at the National Immigration Forum, and since then have watched her rise with awe, said Sharry.

After the National Immigration Forum, Crdenas worked for a series of progressive outfits, including the Center for American Progress, the World Wildlife Fund, Emilys List and President Bidens presidential campaign.

When AV and AVEF needed help with a new administration and Congress in 2021, we reached out to her and hired her as a consultant to serve as acting deputy director. She has done a terrific job. I know she will be an excellent executive director, and that AV 2.0 will have a bright future under her leadership, said Sharry.

The panorama faced by AV 2.0 is very different from what Sharry has faced since 2008, with a majority of Republicans on the offensive openly proposing reduced immigration, and Democrats mostly pivoting away from the issue.

I think that 100 percent Democrats need to lean in. They need to get this issue off the table with an affirmative agenda that shows that theyre in control and not just reacting, said Crdenas.

We also have to do work about reminding them that America can handle migration. You know, one of the most frustrating things for me is just this narrative that somehow this is a problem that isnt solvable and that its so difficult, said Crdenas, pointing to countries like Colombia or Poland, who have absorbed millions of refugees from Venezuela and Ukraine.

Immigration is a reality of our time. Its a global phenomenon that is going to continue, unfortunately, because of many other things, including climate change and pandemics and so on, but in the United States we have the smarts, we have the tools, the know-how, the resources to tackle this issue, said Crdenas.

Still, immigrant advocates face direct opposition from restrictionist groups whove taken hold of the GOP mainstream immigration agenda with ideas that were once considered fringe.

I think thats why the role of AV is so important at this moment. Because we really are in a moment where we have to remind Americans who we are as a nation, and remind them that the United States is a nation of immigrants, and that immigrants are essential to our nations well-being particularly when it comes to the economy, but also to our culture, to our way of life and that immigrants are here to add, not to subtract, said Crdenas.

Crdenas will take over that messaging job from Sharry, a seasoned communicator who also helped craft some of the comprehensive immigration reform deals that nearly made it to the congressional finish line during his tenure as head of AV.

Frank Sharry, through his vision, hard work and the organizations he founded, strengthened our movement and challenged us to communicate more, more strategically and with more clarity, said Ben Monterroso, an AV and AVEF board member who runs voter engagement at Poder Latinx.

AV and AVEF are his legacy, but a new generation of immigrant leaders is stepping up to take the movement even farther and Vanessa is the perfect example. She is the right leader for the right moment at the right organization to help us all succeed in our mission to improve the country and improve the welcome for immigrants, added Monterroso.

AV and AVEF board member Charles Kamasaki added that Crdenas will both add to the organizations traditions and help it shift directions.

Crdenas told The Hill her reasons for wanting the job are twofold.

One, I would say that because immigration is a really important issue for me, because it affected me personally, it affected my family, my community, and it is something where I feel I can make a contribution. The second reason is because of the lack of Latino leadership that we see in the progressive movement.

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New leader takes over at top progressive immigration advocacy organization - The Hill