Idaho U.S. Rep. Simpson wades into immigration debate again with new bill
U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, has co-sponsored another attempt at helping the nation’s struggling immigration system: a bill that would overhaul a temporary agricultural worker program, a potential boon to the dairy industry, which typically can’t access it.
The program, called H-2A, allows workers to enter the U.S. for temporary or seasonal agricultural work, according to the Farm Bureau. The proposal would allow such employees to stay for up to 350 days, among other changes.
Agriculture groups have lauded the H-2A bill for its efforts to keep costs stable for farmers. One of the provisions in the bill would be preventing wages from changing during a contract. The proposal also replaces the words “temporary and seasonal” in law with just “temporary.”
The move comes amid President Donald Trump’s massive immigration crackdown, where even in the Gem State, ICE agents have changed their tactics and Idaho’s district judges routinely hear cases from immigrants challenging their detention. A spokesperson for Simpson, Lexi Hamel, said the H-2A visa program “aligns perfectly with President Trump’s agenda.”
“Ask any farmer or rancher, especially in the dairy industry, and they will tell you about the labor crisis they face,” Simpson said in a news release. “President Trump has demonstrated the courage to act on this issue and has a proven record of protecting America’s farmers while removing violent criminal illegal aliens who have no place in our country.”
The proposal would also protect some immigrants who worked in agriculture illegally in the U.S. before the bill was enacted, but that protection is just so that they can receive H-2A status. This provision would allow the current workforce to transition to the new program, according to the National Milk Producers Federation.
Under the bill, employers can keep people on the payroll who intend to apply for H-2A status, and they will be shielded from some penalties for unlawfully hiring people.
Hamel, Simpson’s spokesperson, said in an email that it was “not an amnesty bill.”
The Trump administration has flipped on whether to target or protect agriculture, in one instance last year changing course over the span of a weekend, leaving employers waiting to see whether their foreign-labor-dependent businesses would be in the crosshairs.
In January, Trump told The New York Times that he wanted agricultural workers to be spared from his administration’s sweeping crackdown. The Trump administration also announced in June that dairy farms can access the H-2A program, but only if they have a temporary or seasonal need.
Simpson nodded to the political difficulties of tackling immigration issues during a press conference in late June. He called it a “tough challenge,” saying that anytime you mention “immigration” or anything similar, “it creates controversy.”
“This is an issue that I’ve been working on for 20 years,” said Simpson, 75, who has been in office since 1999. “It became impossible to get it done, particularly with the open border and the challenges that that faced. Since the president has closed the border, I think we can get this done.”
So far, the House Judiciary Committee hasn’t moved the proposal forward. Its chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, did bring up visa programs for high-skilled workers, agricultural employees and dreamers in 2025, as potential moves following a tax bill.
Simpson is hoping Jordan will act on the bill, according to Hamel.
Simpson, a 14-term congressman, has worked on these issues before, including a 2021 Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which would have changed the H-2A program as well as created a merit-based visa program for the agricultural sector, according to Simpson’s website.
Simpson’s moves may be out of lockstep with state Republican lawmakers, who this year introduced scores of bills aiming to crack down on immigration and the people who hire some immigrants. Their proponents argued that taking action on immigration was popular in the state, though all but one of their bills failed.
The majority of Idahoans, 53%, believe that an increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence harms Idaho agriculture, according to Boise State University’s Idaho Public Policy Survey.
Hamel, Simpson’s spokesperson, said Idahoans support “mass deportations and strict immigration crackdowns.”
“Legal immigration was never the issue,” Hamel said.
