Rep. Lofgren Pushes Bipartisan Plan to Grant Legal Status to Farmworkers and Require E-Verify in Agriculture
This bill is currently sitting in several House committees for review. Nothing has happened with the bill since May 2025, which means it has been stalled for 14 months. It must receive a vote or approval from these committees before it can move forward.
This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.
Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 4319 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 4319 (118th) →Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
Farmworkers with certain criminal histories are barred from obtaining certified agricultural worker status. Any felony conviction, aggravated felony, two misdemeanor offenses involving moral turpitude, or three or more misdemeanors make a person ineligible. While some waivers exist for humanitarian purposes, the criminal bars could exclude workers who have lived and worked in the U.S. for many years.
“an alien is ineligible for certified agricultural worker or certified agricultural dependent status if the Secretary determines that, excluding any offense under State law for which an essential element is the alien's immigration status and any minor traffic offense, the alien has been convicted of-- (A) any felony offense”
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and Workforce, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act would provide legal status for existing agricultural workers and reform the H-2A visa program. It offers CAW status for 5.5 years to those with 180 days of recent farm work and allows year-round industries like dairy to access guest worker visas.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren discussed the reintroduction of H.R. 3227, noting that while the bill provides stability for farms and workers, it faces a difficult path in the Senate. The bill's reintroduction comes as immigration raids on farms in California and Florida have intensified.
Bipartisan lawmakers reintroduced the act to provide immigrant farmworkers with temporary and permanent legal status. The bill expands H-2A visas to cover dairy and year-round workers, with up to 20,000 visas available annually to stabilize the workforce and secure the food supply.
No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2025
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