In 2023, the United States granted 320,666 H-2A visas (for temporary agricultural workers), a number that increases year after year. Given the conditions under which temporary agricultural work is performed, these migrant workers often face multiple violations of their human rights.

To help address this issue, the United States Department of Labor published a draft version of modifications to the H-2A visa program and opened up a period for public comment by interested parties. This concrete opportunity to provide input on policy changes was the result of prior efforts to foster multi-stakeholder dialogue concerning migrant agricultural labor. The organization Centro de los Derechos del Migrante (CDM) mobilized workers to participate in listening sessions, focus groups, and interviews.

After a long process involving workers and civil society organizations, the Department of Labor approved the final version of the new regulations, also called the final rule, for the H-2A visa program.

The final rule went into effect in June 2024 and strengthens protections for migrants that are working on a temporary basis in the United States agricultural sector, guaranteeing their rights and preventing crimes like fraud and human trafficking, while also improving the Department’s capacity to monitor compliance and penalize employers that violate the rules.

This is the result of a participatory process where migrant agricultural workers played a key role, in collaboration with a number of civil society organizations, including Centro de los Derechos del Migrante.

They contributed valuable input and brought attention to workers’ most pressing needs, many of which are addressed in the new rules, such as protection against retaliation for workers who report abuses. While such retaliation was already prohibited, the new regulations incorporate more and better instruments to prevent and penalize it, including defining firing without cause and requiring employers to document when they fire a worker and report it to the Department of Labor.

The regulations also establish transportation safety rules, requiring seatbelts in all vehicles. In addition, workers now have the right to receive visitors in

employer-provided housing, including visits from representatives from community organizations and unions, healthcare providers, and lawyers, without fear of retaliation. Finally, the rules incorporate more robust procedures to prevent and punish the confiscation of personal documents, such as passports and visas, a frequent illegal practice among employers.

Fundación Avina contributed to this strengthening of labor rights for migrant workers by facilitating collaboration between Centro de los Derechos del Migrante and the other member organizations of the PERIPLO project in order to promote a joint strategy.

In addition, we provided funding for CDM’s initiatives to organize and train migrant workers to ensure their voices were heard in the process that led to the approval of these new rules. Funding through the PERIPLO project enabled the CDM legal team to support workers during the advocacy process.

These new rules improve the balance of power between workers and employers, as they provide more and better supports for upholding workers’ rights. For the migrant community, this consti- tutes an improvement in their physical, psychological, and economic conditions, making it a clear step forward in favor of their dignity.