October 1, 2025

Contact: Paige Censale, pcensale@haitianbridge.org

San Diego, CA — Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) notes today’s new Department of Homeland Security(DHS) rule allowing earlier processing of H-2A visa petitions by USCIS as the Department of Labor(DOL) reviews applications. While this reform is billed as a boost for farm productivity, HBA emphasizes the importance of ensuring robust worker protections for migrants, many of whom are Haitian or of African descent.

Recent data illustrate the high stakes: between 2017 and 2022, certified H-2A positions grew by nearly 65 %,  from about 224,965 to 370,628, highlighting how deeply reliant U.S. agriculture has become on temporary migrant labor. In 2022 alone, three states—Florida, California, and Georgia— accounted for roughly 35 % of all certified H-2A jobs. Meanwhile, labor inspections reveal systemic abuse : three out of four investigations of farm labor contractors find violations against workers.

“This new process may help farmers,” said Guerline Jozef, Executive Director of Haitian Bridge Alliance, “but it must not come at the expense of migrant workers’ rights. Too often, workers are treated as disposable labor. We call on DHS and DOL to pair faster processing with stronger oversight, ensuring that every farmworker is safe, respected, and paid fairly for their labor.”

HBA remains committed to defending the dignity and humanity of all migrants and will continue advocating for policies that uplift farmworkers rather than leave them vulnerable.

ABOUT HAITIAN BRIDGE ALLIANCE

Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), also known as “The Bridge”, is a grassroots community organization that advocates for fair and humane immigration policies, foreign policy, and provides migrants and immigrants with humanitarian, legal, and social services, with a particular focus on Black migrants, the Haitian community, women and girls, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and survivors of torture and other human rights abuses. HBA also seeks to elevate the issues unique to Black migrants and builds solidarity and collective movement toward policy change. Anpil men chay pa lou (“Many hands make the load light”). Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook: @haitianbridge