The Farm Workforce Support Act of 2025 mandates a comprehensive report on the H2A temporary visa program's effects on employment, housing, wages, and working conditions.
Gabriel (Gabe) Vasquez
Representative
NM-2
The Farm Workforce Support Act of 2025 mandates a comprehensive report on the H2A temporary visa program. This report will assess the program's effects on hiring domestic and guest workers, challenges in providing affordable housing, and the impact of wage requirements. It will also evaluate the economic consequences for guest workers' families and compliance with working condition guarantees. The findings will be submitted to key Congressional committees for review and action.
Congress Orders Investigation into H2A Farm Visa Program: Report Will Tackle Hiring, Housing, and Worker Conditions
This bill, the Farm Workforce Support Act of 2025, doesn't change any rules on the ground right away. Instead, it sets the stage for potential future changes by ordering a deep-dive report into the H2A temporary agricultural visa program. The nation's top auditor, the Comptroller General, has two years from the Act's passage to deliver a comprehensive analysis to key House and Senate committees focused on labor and agriculture.
What's Under the Microscope?
The H2A program allows agricultural employers to bring foreign workers to the U.S. for temporary or seasonal jobs, provided certain conditions are met. This mandated report aims to get a clearer picture of how that's actually playing out. It will specifically investigate:
- Hiring Dynamics: How does using the H2A program affect the hiring of both U.S. workers (domestic workers) and the guest workers themselves? Are American farms becoming overly reliant on this program?
- Housing Hurdles: What are the real-world challenges in finding affordable and adequate housing for these temporary guest workers?
- Wage Impacts: How do the program's wage requirements influence whether employers hire domestic workers versus guest workers? What's the economic ripple effect on guest workers' families when wages are lost?
- Working Conditions: Are employers actually meeting the working condition standards guaranteed in the guest workers' contracts?
Laying the Groundwork
Think of this bill as commissioning the research before lawmakers consider making adjustments. The findings will provide concrete data on complex issues that touch everything from farm profitability and labor availability to immigration policy and worker protections. By examining the practical effects on hiring, the financial realities for employers and workers, and the basic living and working standards for guest workers, this report could directly inform future legislation impacting the agricultural sector, its workforce, and potentially even the food supply chain. The focus is on gathering facts first.