Federally-funded legal services lawyers have a long history of harassing
farmers with frivolous litigation. Despite congressional reforms and bad
publicity, legal services attorneys persist in this outrageous behavior.
North Carolina Legal Services Lawyers Go to Mexico to Find Clients
Last month, North Carolina legal services lawyers blatantly misused resources by travelling to Mexico to apparently advise Mexican citizens on U.S. labor law and solicit clients for possible lawsuits against American farmers. Farmworkers Legal Services of North Carolina, a major recipient of Legal Services Corporation funding, sent attorneys to the state of Hildago between February 4 and 6 to meet with Mexicans who had temporarily worked in the United States under the federal H-2A program or would be interested in working in the country in the future. The H-2A program manages the immigration of temporary foreign workers to help American farmers harvest their crops. Without the assistance of this foreign labor, many farmers would be unable to harvest their crops and face financial ruin. However, federal legal services lawyers have systematically harassed farmers who use H-2A labor with frivolous lawsuits that have driven many out of business.
Congressman Charles Taylor (R-NC) brought this serious matter to the
attention of LSC President John McKay during a February 25 hearing before
the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, the
Judiciary and Related Agencies. McKay, who is requesting a $57 million
increase in LSC's budget, had been complaining about how LSC grantees were
having to turn away battered women because of recent budget cuts. However,
Taylor described in detail how Farmworkers Legal Services of North Carolina
apparently had enough money to mail letters to hundreds of Mexicans, send
lawyers to the country and buy radio time announcing their impending visit.
In its letter, FLS also said that any Mexican can call collect FLS's North
Carolina offices if they have any questions. McKay professed ignorance
of the matter but agreed that FLS's actions represented an improper use
of resources and promised an investigation.
No Habla Ingles
In yet another instance of legal services harassment of farmers, Puerto
Rican legal services filed several complaints against New Jersey farmers
alleging a myriad of violations against Puerto Rican migrant workers. However,
the farmers experienced considerable difficulty determining what exactly
they were guilty of because the complaints were written in Spanish. Thus,
in addition to having to hire a lawyer to deal with the alleged labor violations,
the farmers had to pay for someone to translate the complaints into English.
Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Commerce,
Justice, State, asked LSC officials what they intend to do about this scandalous
behavior. LSC President John McKay said the problem had been brought to
his attention and promised the committee that all future complaints would
be filed in English.