Farm employers’ increasing use of guest visa farmworkers has strained federal agencies, potentially impairing workers’ rights, a federal watchdog found in a report released Thursday.

The report comes days after Donald Trump was re-elected president. During his first term, Trump championed the use of guest farmworkers — foreign laborers who work temporarily in U.S. agricultural fields — as a legal alternative for farm labor. Many farmworkers in the U.S. are undocumented.

Trump has promised mass deportations of people who are not in the country legally. That could mean an even greater increase in guest farmworkers coming to the U.S. through the H-2A visa program, further straining federal oversight responsibilities.

“Agencies’ approaches to processing H-2A applications amid growth may have unintended consequences for the agencies,” the report from the Government Accountability Office reads, “such as their ability to perform oversight, process adjudications for other programs in a timely manner, and ensure workers are provided with information about their rights.”

The H-2A program has grown in popularity as a response to farm labor shortages. Between 2018 and 2023, the number of applications for H-2A workers increased by 72%, according to the GAO’s analysis.

However, the time the federal government took to review and approve applications remained static. This was accomplished, in part, by shifting staff from other responsibilities to focus on the H-2A program.

The federal government has said the program is an essential part of national security because it helps ensure widespread access to food in the U.S. Given that, agencies have prioritized approving H-2A applications quickly. 

Eliminating the H-2A program was a component of Project 2025, the blueprint created by Trump’s allies for his next administration. During his campaign, Trump disavowed the policy proposal, and, during his first term, he called H-2A labor a “source of legal and verified labor for agriculture.”

Currently, the H-2A program is intended to be used for field labor. (Some employers, however, use H-2A workers to construct animal confinements.) But industry groups representing other parts of the agriculture sector — such as dairy farms and meatpacking plants — have pushed to expand the program to include their operations.

As of Friday, Trump has yet to announce who he will nominate as his labor secretary, the person ultimately responsible for the H-2A program.

H-2A program’s integrity possibly impaired by rapid expansion

Three agencies coordinate approval of H-2A visa applications, though the U.S. Department of Labor performs most oversight. The agency reviews and approves employers’ applications for workers. 

The U.S. Department of State interviews potential workers at its consulates in foreign countries, primarily Mexico. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security reviews a worker’s visa as they cross into the country.

In budget documents, the labor department has said the H-2A program might be compromised by the need to process applications in a timely manner. 

When employers apply, they provide evidence that no U.S. workers want the available jobs, list wage rates and show proof of adequate housing. If an employer’s application does not meet all requirements, the agency can send a “notice of deficiency.”

As the H-2A program expanded, the number of notices decreased, the GAO found. In 2018, almost half of applications were flagged for various infractions, such as inaccurate job descriptions, lacking proof of adequate housing, or missing information on employee transportation. In 2022, just a third were. (In 2023, the figure jumped back to almost half, which officials contributed to new reporting requirements.)

The agency has conducted audits to ensure employers comply with requirements.

But, with the increase in applications, the number of audits has dropped precipitously. In 2018, the agency conducted more than 500. In 2023, the figure was 30, according to the GAO.

“Officials attributed the reduction in H-2A audits to the competing priorities of staff,” the GAO wrote in its report. “Specifically, officials told us they have limited resources to conduct audits because the same staff who process applications also audit the approved applications.”

Prioritizing the H-2A program can also lead to backlogs in other visa programs the labor department oversees, the GAO said.

In some instances, the labor department has approved H-2A applications for employers that then faced scrutiny. 

In 2023, 13 Black farmworkers in Mississippi reached settlements with two employers after the employers hired white South Africans through the H-2A program. The employers told the labor department they would offer the same pay and same number of hours to the U.S. citizens and the H-2A workers — a legal requirement. The U.S. workers were given fewer hours and less pay, they alleged. 

Also, in recent years, contractors in Nebraska who provide detasseling labor — primarily teenagers earning pocket money — have cried foul. H-2A employers have taken some of their business, despite long waitlists of teenagers available to work.

State Department policies may lead to worker exploitation

The State Department is supposed to conduct interviews with prospective H-2A employees at its consulates. During the interviews, workers are provided with “know your rights” pamphlets — the H-2A program has a well-documented history of abuse.

But, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency waived the interview requirement, and, now, most H-2A workers are no longer interviewed in person. In 2023, the agency waived 90% of interviews, the GAO said. 

If an interview is waived, the consulate sends the pamphlet with the worker’s passport. However, the recruiter or the workers’ employer will often pick up passports on workers’ behalf, the GAO said.