Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-TX) introduced the Bracero Program 2.0 Act on July 14, 2025, aimed at overhauling the federal H-2A visa program used to bring temporary agricultural workers into the United States. The bill seeks to modernize the application process, extend worker contracts, increase wages, and expand eligibility for the program.
The H-2A visa program currently allows agricultural employers to hire foreign seasonal workers when no U.S. workers are available. There is no annual cap on the number of H-2A workers admitted. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 42% of all farmworkers in the U.S. lack proper work authorization.
The Bracero Program 2.0 Act proposes several key reforms:
- Establishing a centralized electronic portal to handle applications, advertisements, and documentation—administered jointly by the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security.
- Extending H-2A worker contracts from under 10 months to a full 12 months.
- Requiring employers to pay H-2A workers at least $2 more than the state’s hourly minimum wage.
- Expanding eligibility to include greenhouse and indoor farm workers.
- Allowing greater visa flexibility so that workers can change employers while staying on a single visa.
“For decades, the Bracero program created new opportunities for millions and provided critical support for Texas agriculture,” De La Cruz said. “I am leading efforts to revive the Bracero spirit by reforming H-2A visas.”
The original Bracero Program was a bilateral agreement between the U.S. and Mexico launched during World War II to address agricultural labor shortages. It ran from 1942 to 1964 and brought in around four million temporary workers.
The Trump administration recently proposed wage reforms for the H-2A program, linking compensation to Bureau of Labor Statistics data instead of volatile annual calculations. The goal is to stabilize pay rates and reduce price shocks in the agricultural supply chain.
Critics, including Rosemary Jenks of the Immigration Accountability Project, voiced concerns about expanding temporary foreign worker programs. “We should as a country incentivize growers to invest in capital, to invest in the machines that can pick the crops rather than relying on an imported slave class to pick them,” she said.
As agricultural labor shortages remain a key issue, De La Cruz’s legislation may gain traction in farming states. However, the bill’s future remains uncertain as the Trump administration continues to revise broader visa policies.
