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By Questen Inghram, Yakima Herald-Republic

Members of Congress are calling on the Trump administration to make reforms to the foreign guestworker program that brought nearly 400,000 seasonal workers to farms across the country last year.

U.S. Rep Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, and 17 other members of Congress sent a letter to the Trump administration with a list of proposed changes.

It says that the federal program “has failed to adapt to the growing demand for these types of workers, leading to frustrations and challenges for employers.”

One of the most urgent requests in the letter is that the federal government address visa delays that have been occurring this year.

“Everything they’re calling for, we’re aligned on,” said Enrique Gastelum, CEO of the Worker and Farmer Labor Association, a nonprofit that assists growers with their applications and whose members represent nearly half of the state's requests for H-2A workers. 

Problems have been cropping up since the Trump administration made stricter rules about appointments in April, differentiating between new workers and returning workers. Some delays do not seem to have clear reasonings, Gastelum said. It has impacted about five workers out of every 100, he said.

As of the end of March, the Department of Homeland Security had approved just over 25,000 H-2A workers for the state.

Most people involved in agriculture support some sort of H-2A reform. Growers cite upfront and ongoing costs and delays in the application and visa process as challenges to getting workers through the program. Some labor advocates and organizations like the United Farm Workers say that the rapid growth of the program is leading to a long-term displacement of American jobs and have their own reforms in mind.

Congressional letter

The July 30 letter from members of Congress was addressed to the heads of the U.S. Departments of Labor, State and Homeland Security. It calls for multiple changes, including:

• Expanding the filing window from 60 to 75 days before work begins to 120 days, which would allow more buffer time to prevent unexpected delays to impact farm work.

• Allowing guestworkers to do more kinds of work that have not typically been considered seasonal. That includes year-round work on livestock operations, including dairy and beef cattle, poultry and swine.

• Creating an expedited process for trusted workers and employers who have already successfully used the program.

• Creating clarity regarding English proficiency. The Trump administration now wants any H-2A worker working as a commercial truck driver to be able to demonstrate English ability. How English proficiency is demonstrated seems to differ from consulate to consulate, Gastelum said. There should be more clarity on it, though only a small portion of workers drive trucks, he said.

• The ability for employers to be able to recoup housing and transportation costs from the remaining paychecks from workers who do not complete their contracts.

• Flexibility for employers to change or add job sites on work orders that have already been approved.

House bill seeks to expand scope of work

Many of the concerns in the letter are addressed in a bill that was introduced in the House. The Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act of 2026 was introduced by U.S. Rep. GT Thompson of Pennsylvania, with 56 cosponsors, including Newhouse.

The bill was introduced into the House on June 30. If it were to become law, it would be the first statutory reform of the program in 40 years, according to a news release from Thompson’s office.

The bill seeks to expand access to the program, control costs and streamline the application process.

Right now, H-2A jobs must be both temporary and seasonal. The bill would remove the seasonal work requirement, which would allow for jobs including reforestation, aquaculture and livestock work. It would expand work contracts from 10 months to 350 days.

It would allow unauthorized farmworkers already in the country to participate in the program, if they are eligible and can meet requirements.

The bill would mandate the creation of an online platform to simplify communications between workers, employers and agencies and would clarify roles of federal agencies to prevent duplication of work.

Wage rate

The bill hopes to control costs by codifying the adverse effect wage rate methodology. It would limit wage rate changes to not exceed a 3.5% increase per year or a 1.5% decrease.

Growers have argued that while H-2A workers are supposed to be more expensive by design to favor domestic workers, the wages have ballooned beyond that.

H-2A wages outpaced inflation by 70% between 2010 and 2025, according to Thompson’s office.

Last fall, the U.S. Department of Labor implemented new regulations that changed the Adverse Effect Wage Rate, which was put in place to protect domestic jobs by ensuring guest worker wages did not adversely affect domestic wages.

At the beginning of 2025, Washington state’s AEWR was $19.82. In 2026, the AEWR is $17.13 for farmworkers in entry-level positions and $19 for farmworkers in skilled positions. King County, Bellingham and other areas have minimum wages higher than the state.

The change also allowed employers providing housing to guest workers to take housing costs out of their hourly wage for the first time. In Washington, that translates to an additional $2.49 per hour adjusted from wages.

Labor concerns

Not all welcome the idea of expanding the program. The United Farm Workers contend that the rapid expansion of the program has led to job loss for American-based workers. 

The UFW, the UFW Foundation and 18 workers across the country filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of California against the Trump Administration over the new wage policies, arguing that they are illegal and hurt American workers.

The lawsuit asked for an injunction to stop the wage decrease while the case continues. A judge denied the injunction in May. The case will be heard by a judge on Aug. 18.

“We're litigating against the way the Trump administration arbitrarily changed farmworker wages,” said Areli Arteaga, political director for the UFW. “We’re hoping that the judge will rule quickly.”

Arteaga said the UFW also is concerned about the letter sent by members of Congress.

“I find it disheartening that while Newhouse has had a track record of supporting all of his agricultural constituents, that he is through this letter solely advocating for agricultural employers,” Arteaga said. 

Arteaga said that the UFW continues to support the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which would provide a pathway to citizenship, which the Securing Agriculture's Workforce Act does not provide.