US labor secretary touts changes to agricultural visa program during New Mexico visit

SANTA FE — President Donald Trump’s labor secretary told western governors Tuesday her office is working to streamline the handling of agricultural visas amid a backlog of applications.

Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a former Oregon congresswoman, also said the U.S. Department of Labor recently stopped enforcing a Biden-era farmworker rule intended to protect organizing efforts by foreign farmworkers in the country on an H-2A visa.

She described the changes as part of a broader effort to lower inflation for consumers and make the nation’s workforce more job-ready.

“We will be offering more of a concierge approach to make sure that workforce and that innovation is there for our farmers, ranchers and producers,” Chavez-DeRemer said during a panel at the Western Governors’ Association meeting.

Specifically, she said the improved efficiency would be brought about by creating a new office in her agency to handle agriculture visa applications instead of having such authority spread between several different federal departments.

But the Trump appointee, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in March, indicated comprehensive immigration reform would be left to the U.S. Congress to vote on. The last sweeping change of U.S. immigration laws was approved in 1986.

Much of New Mexico’s agricultural industry is reliant on seasonal migrant workers, including the state’s iconic chile industry that has struggled in recent years with rising water costs and a labor shortage.

The labor secretary’s visit to Santa Fe also comes as the Trump administration has ramped up deportation flights and workplace raids of undocumented immigrants. That effort has raised concern among some business owners about economic impacts.

In New Mexico, federal agents raided a Lovington dairy farm this month and arrested 11 employees, prompting the dairy to at least temporarily cease its operations. Such incidents were not brought up during Tuesday’s panel discussion, though several governors did talk about broader workforce initiatives.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox highlighted the importance of migrant workers in his state, saying such workers are vital in running a turkey processing facility that his mother once worked at.

“I would love for Americans to want to do those jobs,” said Cox, who took over the role as WGA chairman during this week’s meeting. “I can just tell you, none of the Americans I know want to do some of these jobs.”

He also said most governors agree on the need to “stop illegal immigration and fix legal immigration.”

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham questioned Chavez-DeRemer about the Trump administration’s efforts to help curb fraud in applications for unemployment benefits.

She also cited New Mexico’s efforts to provide easy access to apprenticeship programs and use state funds to cover tuition costs for qualifying college students.

The labor secretary’s remarks and give-and-take with governors came on the second and final day of the WGA annual meeting in Santa Fe, which drew eight governors and five Trump administration officials.

Unlike during the meeting’s opening day, when more than 1,000 protesters surrounded the downtown hotel hosting the event to express their opposition to a GOP-backed plan to include public land sales in a congressional budget bill, the Tuesday portion of the meeting did not draw local backlash.

Chavez-DeRemer praised the budget bill during her remarks, while also addressing concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on the nation’s future workforce.

“My goal is never to replace the American worker,” she said, but added that training and proficiency in AI technology will be necessary to bolster the country’s economy.