House Republicans are advancing a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s farmworker visa program that would allow more agricultural employers to hire foreign workers for nearly year-round jobs, arguing persistent labor shortages threaten the U.S. food supply. The proposal has won broad support from farm groups but drawn criticism from immigration restrictionists, who argue it amounts to amnesty.
The Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act (H.R. 9535), introduced June 30 by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, would significantly expand the H-2A visa program, which currently allows employers to hire foreign workers only for temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs when domestic labor is unavailable.
A bipartisan push with deep industry backing
The bipartisan bill would extend H-2A eligibility to many year-round agricultural operations, including dairy and livestock producers, while simplifying the hiring process and revising wage rules.
“It’s time to bring the H-2A program into the 21st century,” Thompson said in a press release. “Producers have been sounding the alarm for years that Congress needs to address the workforce crisis we have on our hands in farm country. The H-2A visa program is woefully outdated and it no longer meets the needs of American agricultural production.”
Thompson said the legislation grew out of an Agricultural Labor Working Group he created in 2023, made up of eight Republicans and eight Democrats, along with feedback from 160 farm bill listening sessions across 43 states and one U.S. territory.
He argued Congress has failed to modernize the program for decades.
“Congress has not updated the H-2A visa program since Ronald Reagan was president of the United States and if you ask anyone who used the program, they’ll say that you can tell,” Thompson said.
Linking the issue to national security, he added: “There is no greater national security threat than disruptions to our food supply.”
“The Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act of 2026 makes the practical, commonsense reforms required to prevent these disruptions by providing a workforce that meets agriculture’s needs — now and in the future,” he said.
The measure has attracted 45 Republican and four Democratic original cosponsors, many representing major agricultural states. It is backed by the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Western Growers Association, the National Milk Producers Federation and more than 400 agricultural organizations.
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall shared his own experience, saying he stopped milking cows after three generations because he could no longer find dependable workers. He argued the current H-2A program has never adequately served dairy operations because it excludes year-round employment.
Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia also endorsed the legislation, saying his organization “strongly supports Chairman Thompson’s Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act (SAWA) and commends his leadership in advancing long-overdue reforms to stabilize America’s agricultural workforce.”
What does the bill do?
The legislation would make some of the most significant statutory changes to H-2A since it was created under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
It would replace the requirement that jobs be “of a temporary or seasonal nature” with a broader definition of temporary employment, allowing contracts of up to 350 days. That change would effectively expand eligibility to dairy, livestock, poultry, controlled-environment agriculture, forestry, aquaculture and livestock harvest operations.
While the Trump administration previously clarified that dairy farms could qualify for H-2A workers under certain temporary circumstances, Thompson’s bill would permanently rewrite the statute to accommodate year-round agricultural operations.
The proposal would also allow the Labor Department to issue H-2A certifications valid for up to three consecutive years. Employers could stagger workers’ arrival and departure dates as labor needs change and H-2A workers could transfer to another certified agricultural employer once a non-frivolous petition is filed on their behalf.
Wage rules and cost controls
The bill would also revise wage requirements for H-2A workers.
Employers would be required to pay at least the highest applicable wage under collective bargaining agreements, federal, state, or local minimum wage laws, or the adverse effect wage rate (AEWR), when applicable.
The legislation would also change how the AEWR is calculated, limiting annual decreases to 1.5 percent and increases to 3.25 percent.
Farm organizations have argued that rapid AEWR increases have made labor costs difficult to predict. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the rate has increased 60 percent over the past decade, compared with a 49 percent increase in private-sector wages.
Worker advocates, however, have generally opposed limiting wage growth, arguing the rules help prevent foreign labor from depressing wages for U.S. workers.
Kansas Livestock Association CEO Matt Teagarden said, “A stable workforce that farmers can rely on, one where workers feel secure in their status without fear, will provide real relief for our agricultural sector, farmers and ranchers. This is a step forward that acknowledges what Americans already know: Immigrants are essential to agriculture.”
What happens next
The bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
Texas Farm Bureau President Russell Boening noted that no companion measure has yet been introduced in the Senate, meaning the legislation still faces significant hurdles before it can become law.
If enacted, its provisions would take effect one year after the bill is signed. Even with broad agricultural support, observers expect the proposal to face intense debate in Congress given its immigration provisions.