All articles tagged with #h 2a
A California federal judge ruled that the Labor Department’s wage-cutting rule for H-2A seasonal farmworkers is unlawful because it failed to show it wouldn’t undercut U.S. workers’ wages, but he allowed the rule to remain in effect temporarily while the agency creates a new wage formula and warns employers they may owe back pay if the new rates are higher.
A California federal judge ruled that the Trump administration illegally lowered wages for migrant farmworkers under the H-2A program, ordering the Labor Department to set lawful pay levels and inform employers about potential back wages; the ruling challenges the administration’s cost-cutting justification tied to immigration policy and underscores ongoing tensions between farm labor needs and workers’ pay.
Industry groups across construction, agriculture, and other sectors say the intensified immigration crackdown, including ending TPS protections for hundreds of thousands of workers, is threatening labor supply, potentially raising costs and slowing housing and the broader economy. They’re lobbying DHS, Labor, Agriculture, and the White House for policy fixes and visa-program reforms, while internal debates over enforcement versus economic needs continue.
House Agriculture Chair G.T. Thompson proposed the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act of 2026, expanding the H-2A guest-worker program and allowing some undocumented workers who have already worked in U.S. agriculture to apply for temporary legal status, with waivers for certain immigration violations if they meet visa requirements. The plan aims to address farmworker shortages and aligns with dairy and other labor-intensive sectors, but is expected to draw opposition from immigration hawks and labor unions.
Pennsylvania farmers are urging quick legislative action on a farm labor bill to replace temporary measures and address ongoing issues with the H-2A program, which is seen as cumbersome and uncertain amid fluctuating immigration enforcement policies, impacting harvests and farm operations.