Dozens of House Republicans are pushing a mass amnesty bill that would expand a visa program for illegal alien agriculture workers and give many of them legal status. Forty-seven Republicans have signed onto a bipartisan bill in the House that would allow illegal aliens who work in agriculture as of May 31, 2026, to obtain […]
Republicans on Capitol Hill are starting to talk about one facet of immigration reform: how to expand the popular H-2A visa program for farm laborers. They face obstacles.
If you're an immigrant worker in the U.S. right now, you've got a better shot landing a visa as a farmer than a tech worker, researcher, doctor or nurse . Why it matters: The Trump administration's crackdown on H-1B visas is crushing sectors that rely on high-skilled immigrant workers, while seasonal programs for farm workers have gotten a pass. - "There was all of this hype that Trump would be friendly toward high-skilled immigration and harder on low-skilled immigration," said Sam Peak, an immigration expert at the Economic Innovation Group. - The opposite has been true, including an admission from the administration that seasonal farm labor jobs can't be filled with Americans. The big picture: Huge new fees ($100k a pop for H-1B…