The Trump administration has introduced emergency rules allowing US farms to hire more migrant workers on H-2A temporary visas while reducing their wages, a move that has drawn criticism from both labour groups and immigration restrictionists.
The new regulations, which took effect on 1 January, are intended to alleviate labour shortages exacerbated by the administration's aggressive deportation raids and border crackdown. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the changes would help farmers struggling to find domestic workers in the absence of congressional reform.
However, the United Farm Workers union has filed a lawsuit arguing that the rule change undermines American workers. Union president Teresa Romero said the policy “makes it easier for big agricultural corporations to exploit cheap foreign labour” and displaces US employees. The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute estimates the rules will cut H-2A workers' wages by $2 billion and put $3 billion of downward pressure on domestic farm wages.
Immigration restriction advocates have also criticised the move. Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies said the administration was bowing to agribusiness pressure instead of encouraging mechanisation. Meanwhile, farm owners like Walter King of Nelson-King Farms in Mississippi argue that without the H-2A programme, “farming would cease”.
The policy highlights a political tension for President Trump, as agricultural regions that rely heavily on migrant labour tend to lean Republican. The Department of Labor warned that stepped-up enforcement could eliminate an estimated 225,000 farm workers, threatening food production and prices.
