Farmworkers Rally at Fresno Courthouse as Lawyers Fight H-2A Wage Cuts

Hundreds of farmworkers filled the sidewalks outside the Robert E. Coyle Federal Courthouse at 2500 Tulare St. in downtown Fresno on Wednesday, chanting in support of a lawsuit that asks a federal judge to block a Trump administration rule already cutting into their paychecks.

The rally began at 1 p.m., one hour before lawyers for the United Farm Workers stepped inside the courthouse for the first hearing on their motion for a preliminary injunction. The UFW, joined by the Service Employees, filed the suit to challenge federal rules governing two things: how many workers can be admitted under H-2A agricultural guestworker visas and how much to cut their minimum pay. "We filed suit to stop these cuts," the union said in an email to supporters. "Unfortunately, the cuts have taken effect."

UFW President Teresa Romero and UFW Foundation Chief Executive Erica Lomeli Corcoran were among those present at the Fresno courthouse. The UFW's core argument is that the rule transfers over $5 billion a year from farmworkers to their employers while simultaneously expanding the pool of H-2A visa holders, a combination the union describes as a double blow to workers across the agricultural industry.

The stakes extend beyond visa holders. The UFW argues that owners, especially agribusinesses, will use the pay cut and the visa expansion to cut every farmworker's minimum pay regardless of whether the worker is documented or undocumented, holds an H-2A visa or not, or is a citizen or not. Agricultural employers have defended the underlying economics of the rule, with some factory farm operators citing thin operating margins.

The wage reductions are not uniform: they vary depending on the crop involved and the state in which workers are employed. California sits at the center of the dispute because most H-2A farmworker visas flow to workers in Oregon, Washington, and California, which is why the UFW chose Fresno as the venue for the lawsuit.

No ruling on the injunction motion was issued at Wednesday's hearing, and the case remains open before the court. The rule the UFW seeks to reverse had already gone into effect before the first hearing took place, meaning workers are losing wages even as the legal fight unfolds on Tulare Street.