Immigration has historically driven U.S. growth and filled labor shortages in various sectors, but it has also remained one of the most politically divisive issues. In the modern era, successive administrations have agreed on the need to reform the asylum system and bolster border security, while differing sharply on how to manage immigration more broadly.

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As food prices remain high, the Trump administration has made it easier for farmers to hire foreign guest workers and to pay them less. Now, other industries with large immigrant workforces also are asking for relief as they combat labor shortages and raids.

Visas for temporary foreign workers are a quick fix with bipartisan support in Congress. And Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ office told Stateline that “streamlining” visas for both agricultural and other jobs is a priority for the Trump administration.

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Net migration to the UK has fallen to levels last seen before Brexit. The latest ONS figures show net migration reached just over 200,000 in the year ending in June. This marks a 78% decline over the past two years, from a peak of more than 900,000.

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In a tacit admission that U.S. food production requires foreign labor, the Trump administration is making it easier for farmers to employ guest workers from other countries.

At the same time, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in recent months appears to be refraining from conducting agricultural workplace raids, even as it scours Democratic-led cities for immigrants who are in the country illegally.

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Critics of the H‑1B visa for skilled foreign workers often claim that the status amounts to “indentured” servitude. Indentured servitude is a contract to work for a single employer for a predetermined period without pay. H‑1B workers are not only compensated well—they receive wages in the top 10 percent of wage earners in the United States.

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As President Trump approaches the one year mark in office, apprehensions at the southern border have dropped significantly. States along the southern border, including Texas, Arizona and California have seen significant reductions.

In 2025 so far, Customs and Border Protection has reported 443,671 land border encounters compared to more than two million encounters each year in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

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A Texas lawmaker introduced legislation to reform the H-2A visa program for agricultural workers.

U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas, introduced the Bracero Program 2.0 Act, a bill to make wage reforms and technical upgrades to the H-2a temporary agricultural visa program.

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A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging President Donald Trump to end his $100,000 fee for H-1B visa holders.

On Sept. 19, Trump issued a proclamation imposing the one-time fee on new H-1B visa petitions. Employers seeking high-skilled foreign workers applications after Sept. 21 must pay the $100,000 fee. 

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