The American Business Immigration Coalition Agricultural Council endorses U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson’s Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act.
This bill is a step in the right direction. It addresses long-overdue barriers faced by farmers by modernizing the H-2A visa program and expanding access to a year-round workforce. It also fills a critical gap by giving undocumented agricultural workers a path to temporary legal status and work permits.
The agricultural labor crisis is real: According to the American Farm Bureau, in 2025, only 182 domestic applications were submitted for nearly 415,000 advertised agricultural positions.
“Today, about 70 percent of workers in the U.S. farm sector are foreign-born, with nearly 40 percent being undocumented. Farmers are struggling to maintain workforce stability in a sector where a single day’s delay can ruin a harvest, and where daily, time-sensitive tasks cannot wait. As Americans face rising grocery bills, the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act finally opens the door to address the urgent needs of farmers by providing workers a path to legal status to keep food on tables across this nation.” Rebecca Shi, ABIC CEO.
“July 4th is a national holiday marking the history of our country. On any holiday, no matter how early or how late, cows still need to be milked and food still needs to be produced year-round every single day. 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.” Matt Teagarden, CEO for the Kansas Livestock Association (KLA),