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May 08, 2026

Dozens Of Republicans Back Bill To Legalize Non-Citizen Farm Workers

President Donald Trump handily defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, running on a core set of objectives that included stringent border security and mass deportation of illegal aliens.

Since taking office, Trump has largely kept those promises, with border crossings falling dramatically and ongoing deportations.

But in recent days, the president has faced a growing number of defections from GOP lawmakers who have signed onto legislation that would grant legal status to farm laborers in the country illegally, following growing concerns from farmers who are worried they won’t be able to harvest their crops.

As such, House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson has proposed a broad expansion of a federal farm labor program that would allow certain undocumented immigrants working in U.S. agriculture to apply for temporary legal status.

The long-awaited legislation, which the Pennsylvania Republican formally introduced Tuesday, closely reflects the priorities that the dairy industry and other labor-intensive agricultural sectors have advocated.

Those industries have urged Congress to expand legal workforce options, arguing they face persistent labor shortages that they say have been intensified by Trump-era immigration policies.

Some provisions of the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act of 2026, however, are expected to face scrutiny from immigration hawks in Congress as well as labor unions.

In a Dear Colleague letter obtained by POLITICO, Thompson said his proposal is driven by the need to reform what he described as a “broken” program, despite the broader political debate surrounding the southern border.

President Donald Trump, center, and former Representative Mike Rogers, a Republican from Michigan and US Senate candidate, center left, shake hands...

“With the border now secure, it is time to address these shortcomings and provide fair and legal pathways for all of agriculture to obtain workers when they are unable to find U.S. citizens willing to perform these noble but arduous tasks,” Thompson wrote.

Thompson’s proposal would allow certain undocumented immigrants already working in U.S. agriculture to apply for H-2A status.

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