Press Contact: Jimena de Haro Celorio, jimenad@cdmigrante.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, the Migration that Works (MTW) coalition, joined by 40 labor and migrant rights organizations, sent a formal letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. The letter urges lawmakers to reject harmful provisions in the Fiscal Year 2027 appropriations legislation that would expand the flawed H-2 temporary work visa programs without implementing critical labor protections.
The H-2A and H-2B programs currently facilitate wage theft, debt bondage, and human trafficking. Despite these well-documented abuses, recent appropriations bills have included language to bypass statutory caps and weaken the Department of Labor’s ability to enforce basic standards.
“A fair labor migration system must protect both migrant and U.S. workers by ensuring strong labor standards and meaningful oversight,” the letter states. The MTW coalition and its allies call for an end to the use of appropriations “riders” that expand these programs behind closed doors, demanding instead that any changes to the programs include visa portability, anti-discrimination provisions, a ban on recruitment fees, stronger regulation of labor recruiters, and effective enforcement mechanisms.
migrationthatworks.org 