Immigration reform is something the agricultural industry has been pushing for several years now. And recently, U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse says we might be moving in that direction.

“So, we’re looking at ways that we can reform our visa programs to better suit today’s agriculture so that the workers that we have can rest assured that they’re not going to be subject to some of the deportation activities.”

And in recent years, Newhouse says he’s run into quite a bit of pushback on labor reform.

“Because, one very important thing that I can’t disagree with that our southern border was in a crisis situation, that, you know, we had so many people coming into the country illegally that people just couldn’t support allowing more people to come in even though we need workers on farms and in other parts of the economy.”

But now?

“That has changed. With the last election, the number of people, illegal encounters that the border patrol is experiencing at the southern border, the numbers are just staggering, the reduction.”

It’s hard to believe, but the numbers are impressive.

“Last February, in 2024, there were over 140,000 illegal attempts to enter the country. This February, one year later, that number was down to 8,000.”

With the numbers down, Newhouse thinks labor reform talks might begin taking shape soon.