U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer delivers a keynote address during the Western Governors’ Association annual meeting in Santa Fe on June 24, 2025. (Photo by Austin Fisher / Source NM)

The Trump administration is planning to make it easier for employers to hire temporary migrant workers, U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer told attendees Tuesday afternoon at the Western Governors’ Association annual meeting in Santa Fe.

Chavez-DeRemer said due to the backlog of temporary work visa applications, she is establishing “an emergency agency” within her office to process the work permits “on the spot.”

The move comes as the administration resumes immigration raids at farms, restaurants and hotels, despite having previously said those would decrease due to concerns about worker shortages.

Chavez-DeRemer said she will be working with the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State and the Department of Agriculture “to understand the exact needs,” because as it stands, a work visa application must go through all three agencies.

“That’s where the hangup happened,” she said. “We’re going to do one dedicated, one-stop shop as I call it … and have a live dashboard to see exactly when those permits will be done.”

Chavez-DeRemer said she is often asked if visa applications can be done more quickly and cost less.

“Labor costs are always the highest in any business, and our farmers and ranchers know that food security is national security,” Chavez-DeRemer said.

Chavez-DeRemer told the governors the work visas for specialty occupations; temporary agricultural workers and temporary workers in industries like hospitality, landscaping or construction “are very important to a lot of your respective states and our rural communities.”

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat and the association’s outgoing chair, said the temporary work visas are critical to the agriculture sector. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, said most western U.S. states have significant agriculture industries that rely on migrant workers.

“I would love for Americans to want to do those jobs,” Cox said. “None of the Americans I know want to do some of these jobs.”

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham questions U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer during the Western Governors’ Association annual meeting in Santa Fe on June 24, 2025. (Photo by Austin Fisher / Source NM)

Cox expressed approval of Trump’s immigration agenda so far and asked Chavez-DeRemer for more information about changes to the visa system.

“I think we’ve all agreed that we need to stop illegal immigration and fix legal immigration, and get that piece right, and this sounds like a huge step forward in fixing that second piece,” Cox said. “I appreciate that the president is fixing the first piece — and we feel much better about where we are there — but that second piece of streamlining those visas, getting workers in here and doing that could be very key.”

The Department of Labor on Friday stopped enforcing a Biden-era rule that protected union organizing activities among temporary farmworkers. Chavez-DeRemer said the rule harmed farm employers and made it harder for them to hire people.

Chavez-DeRemer said the work visa changes will “come across fairly rapidly.”

“They want a solution, and they wanted it yesterday, and now we’re finally going to lean in,” she said.

North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong, a Republican, said the law around H2A visas, which permit people to do temporary or seasonal agricultural work, hasn’t changed since he was elected in 2018.

“There’s not been a single law passed but it’s a lot harder to get an H2A worker in 2024 than it was in 2018,” Armstrong said.

Later, Chavez-DeRemer said her department will work with Congress “on the longer-term issues of immigration reform as it needs to be addressed.”

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