Eva Longoria Parker Visits Congress

Actress Eva Longoria Parker visited Washington on Wednesday to advocate for migrant farmworker children. The Desperate Housewives star and members of Congress attended a screening of The Harvest, a documentary that shows children working under dangerous conditions in the United States. In agriculture, children do not have the same legal protections as underage workers in other industries, such as limitations on the hours they can work.

U.S. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.) introduced legislation last year to address deficiencies in agricultural labor law in regard to children, but it has not yet been passed. Named 'The Children's Act for Responsible Employment' (CARE Act, HR 3564), the proposed bill has 130 cosponsors.

"I applaud Eva Longoria Parker … for using the power of film to shine a light on the plight of child farmworkers in The Harvest/La Cosecha.  As this film documents, children in agriculture too often work in dangerous and exploitive conditions, which are illegal in every other industry,” said Roybal-Allard in a statement.

Parker said she was honored to speak for the young workers. “The plight of migrant children has been an issue very near and dear to my heart.”

Parker and her husband, San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker, later went to an awards banquet given by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. The group honored her with a Medallion of Excellence award for her charitable work and her advocacy for Hispanic people.

National Hispanic Heritage Month began Sept. 15 and ends Oct. 15.