Lawmakers look to overhaul farmworkers visa before GOP takeover

MIAMI — “Lawmakers, agriculture groups and farmworker organizations are pushing to pass an overhaul of the farmworker visa program through both chambers of Congress before the GOP takes control of the House next year,” the Wall Street Journal reported this week.

A bill providing a path to citizenship for about 1 million farmworkers—and creating a capped number of new year-round visas—passed the House in March 2021, with the support of 217 Democrats and 30 Republicans.

The measure is generally supported by immigrant advocacy groups and by farmers who say they struggle to find enough people to harvest their crops. 

Republicans generally oppose efforts to provide legal status to people who immigrated to the U.S. illegally, though some have tentatively backed an exception for farmworkers, who work in a core business constituency.

If the legislation doesn’t pass this year, GOP leaders aren’t expected to be willing to bring it up once they have a majority in the House.

Currently there is no cap on the number of visas for seasonal agricultural work, known as H-2A visas, but farmworkers are only allowed to remain in the country for up to 10 months. That has created a problem for employers who need year-round help, such as on dairy farms.

The House bill would establish 20,000 three-year H-2A visas for year-round work, with that number expected to be higher in a Senate agreement, according to people familiar with the discussions.

At the heart of the bill is a trade-off. 

The legislation would provide a path to citizenship for the roughly one million farmworkers living in the U.S. illegally, long sought by Democrats. To satisfy GOP demands, the bill would also require employers in the agricultural sector to use an electronic system verifying the legal status of their workers.

Despite that provision, any legislation providing a path to citizenship for some immigrants without legal status is anathema to many Republicans who first want steps taken to tighten border security.

“Politically, the reality is that things will change next year and complicate moving an immigration bill,” said Rep. Dan Newhouse (R., Wash.), who is helping to spearhead the effort.

GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, who is expected to become the next House speaker, has said he wouldn’t support any bill to extend immigrant work visas without first addressing border security.