Remote Surveillance Trailer in Fresno, CA

A Trump administration attorney conceded “there aren’t enough Americans to take these jobs” at a federal court hearing in Fresno this week as she defended a policy that would cut pay to immigrant laborers.

The lawsuit, filed by the United Farm Workers in the U.S. District Court for Eastern California, challenges a federal wage rule tied to the H-2A agriculture visa program, which allows U.S. employers to hire temporary workers from abroad, mostly from Mexico, for agricultural jobs not filled by domestic workers.

At issue is whether that new rule lowers wages in a way that could ripple through the broader workforce and affect U.S. workers by driving down their pay. Federal law requires H-2A wages not undercut domestic pay.

The case highlights the ag industry’s dependence on immigrant labor at a time when the Trump administration is using military-style tactics to crack down on immigration, while at the same time trying to make it cheaper for growers and farmers to hire temporary foreign workers.

Growers argue that labor costs have been rising for decades, warning that without changes, some farms may shut down.

The union representing farmworkers argued in court filings that employers, especially those in agribusinesses, will expand the pay cut to every farmworker, including American workers.

U.S. District Judge Kirk Sherriff said he planned to issue a written ruling soon that would either uphold or suspend the Trump administration policy.

The new interim rule splits H-2A workers into two tiers, resulting in 92% of farmworkers being categorized as “unskilled” and setting their pay to the 17th percentile of average wages, meaning 92% of farmworkers would earn what the bottom 17% of Americans make.

The nonprofit think tank Economic Policy Institute has estimated the minimum wage for many farmworkers would fall to $13.70 an hour. Their average minimum wage last year was $17.43. California’s minimum wage is $16.90.

Alexandra McTague Schulte, an attorney representing the U.S. Department of Labor, argued that the government is obligated to protect American workers from the adverse effects of wages from H-2A laborers.

The labor department refused to concede that bringing in foreign labor at reduced wages would affect American workers’ wages. Schulte said the proposed lower minimum wage for H-2A visa holders would not affect citizens because farmers already can’t find enough workers, meaning the demand for labor is greater than the supply.

In an exchange, Sherriff seemed to disagree. He said setting wages for the vast majority of H-2A farmworkers at a “level way lower than similar workers, including Americans”, would undercut the market.

“Isn’t that just math?” Sherriff asked.

Schulte did not answer directly, saying, “I’m not good at math, your honor.”

Outside court, UFW President Teresa Romero said immigrant laborers are in a weak position to bargain for better pay.

“We know that many of the workers don’t speak English. We know that many of the workers are told ‘if you don’t like it, go somewhere else,’” she said, noting that many are undocumented and don’t feel they can speak up.

Balancing the need for labor with immigration policy is an issue the U.S. has wrestled with for decades, dating to the 1950s and an Eisenhower-era program named with a slur for Hispanics. The H-2A program is a direct descendant of the Bracero program, an agreement between the United States and Mexico to bring 4.5 million temporary workers to fill agricultural and railroad labor shortages during World War II.

Today in California, temporary workers do everything from herding cattle to pushing carts and selling fruit bars and ice cream, according to federal records. The number of certified H-2A workers exploded in the Golden State until 2022, but dropped by 7% in 2023. That year, about 88,000 of them entered the U.S. with a California work destination.

Mixed signals from Trump on farmworkers

The Trump administration vowed that the “largest deportation operation in American history” would give U.S. workers better jobs and pay. But it has also quietly tried to collaborate with farmers to address their shrinking workforce. And top Trump officials have acknowledged that raids and crackdowns have led to further shortages.

In October, the Labor Department wrote in a regulatory filing that finding workers is more difficult following the immigration raids.

“The near total cessation of the inflow of illegal aliens combined with the lack of an available legal work force,” the document said, “results in significant disruptions to production costs and threatening the stability of domestic food production and prices for U.S. consumers.” The document also said American workers are not interested in and do not have the skills to perform agricultural jobs.

That also contradicts U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who has said the farm workforce would one day be 100% American.

Trump’s tornado of policy changes on immigration, starting in his first hours in office, have created chaos in courts and fear and confusion at the border for legal temporary workers.

In 2025, a group of about a dozen H-2A workers who had crossed legally into the U.S. through the San Ysidro Port of Entry to harvest fruit in Fallbrook were ordered the next day to appear in immigration court and then mistakenly placed in removal proceedings. Some said they feared they would end up in an El Salvadoran prison for coming to work legally.

Trump said in June that his administration was working on “some kind of temporary pass” for immigrants who are not legally authorized to work but have jobs on farms and in hotels.

Smaller stations, and building in the correct order.

That’s what the California High-Speed Rail Authority says is key to shaving another $2 billion off the cost of its initial Central Valley route, which it hopes to complete by 2032. The savings would bring the segment’s cost down to $34.76 billion, down from the $36.75 billion cost the rail authority projected last August and from the $51 billion it says the route would cost without its savings plan.

In a statement to The Fresno Bee late Monday evening, the rail authority said it’s going to change design plans for its four Central Valley stations — slated for Fresno, Merced, Hanford and Bakersfield — so that their sizes align with ridership demand expected when passenger service begins.

“We’re not overbuilding or over-maintaining, while delivering infrastructure in the correct sequence, so every available dollar goes further,” the agency said in a written response to emailed questions from The Bee.

The rail authority revealed its cost-saving hopes over the weekend in a draft of its 2026 business plan, which this year is required by a 2025 state law to show how the agency is going to clear previously identified financing gaps for the Central Valley segment.

The report says the agency has $39.3 billion available through 2045, enough to clear the $34.76 billion cost of the Central Valley segment even if $2 billion in borrowing costs were added to the total. To realize those cost savings, the rail authority will need a lot of support from the state.

The agency will need California’s Legislature to approve various laws that will grant it more power over land it needs and give it access to money faster, not just on an annual basis from the state. That would help reduce the type of construction delays and subsequent cost increases that have plagued the project’s past, the agency said.

But the list of requests may be too long, the California Legislative Analyst’s Office said in a report released Monday.

“The implications for these (cost and schedule) estimates if the Legislature were not to approve the proposed statutory changes are unclear,” the LAO report says.

After feds pulled $4 billion, CA High-Speed Rail looked for new options

The project has grown controversial since California voters in 2008 approved $9.95 billion in bonds for a train that would connect the state’s major metro areas at a total cost of about $45 billion.

Today, state law requires that the rail authority focus on first completing the 171-mile Central Valley segment from Merced to Bakersfield, a line that is expected to lose money with low ridership. Historically critical of the project’s Central Valley focus, the Trump administration decided to pull $4 billion of the train’s federal money last summer.

The rail authority says that’s when it began to pitch more changes to design plans as it met with local governments. The agency had already announced last April it planned to reduce the size of its Central Valley stations with designs that would allow them to grow as ridership levels increase.

More recently the agency pitched changing the way the train will travel through Shafter to cut costs and two years of construction time, though that city rejected the proposal. It also has proposed a new station location in Merced, which the agency says will save $1 billion.

“We will be reaching out also to Bakersfield,” rail authority CEO Ian Choudri said during last month during a visit to the Central Valley. “We’ll just sit down and discuss through the planning process.”

The agency told The Bee its savings projection also accounts for a Central Valley construction cost increase of up to $573 million recently authorized by its board.

Though it has pitched delaying construction to Merced and building toward the Bay area first, the agency said Monday “there are no plans to defer the Merced station.” Doing so would require changes to the state law that mandates the rail authority build a Central Valley segment first, which Choudri told The Bee last fall he does plan to ask from the Legislature.

“The Authority’s strategy is clear: completion of the Merced – Bakerfield segment, expand service to major population centers, and early asset commercialization to generate additional revenue to support continued system build out,” the agency said Monday in its response to questions.

When Fresno Diocese Bishop Joseph Brennan celebrated Mass for about 70 detainees at the gym of California City’s ICE detention facility, his message for detainees was simple: Someone is with you.

“To those in detention, I want to say clearly: You are not alone,” Brennan recounted in a short statement to The Fresno Bee about his recent visit to California City Immigration Processing Center in Kern County.

“The Church walks with you, prays with you, and cares about your spiritual and human needs,” Brennan said during the Mass.

Brennan, who visited the largest ICE detention facility in the state on Feb. 16 as part of a delegation of the California Conference of Catholic Bishops, walked through the detention center, talked to detainees and celebrated Mass. The Diocese of Fresno covers eight counties, including Kern.

“This was very special; it was a very different Mass,” said Chandler Marquez, Fresno Dioceses spokesperson who also went with Brennan to the facility. “It was very touching, and it was very impactful.”

The 2,650-bed California City facility, operated by Tennessee-based private prison company CoreCivic, had 847 people detained as of early December, according to

The visit was part of raising awareness and promoting “human dignity, accompaniment, and restorative justice” across the state, an initiative by the Catholic Bishops of California, according to Marquez.

In December, a team of inspectors from Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office toured the facility that resulted in a seven-page letter sent to Department of Homeland Security officials. and living conditions. U.S. Sens Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff also toured the facility in mid-January and .

The bilingual Mass, in English and Spanish, was attended by about 70 men, ranging from 20 to 50, who spoke about 90 languages in total, Marquez said.

Marquez said prior to the service, Brennan and Bishop Brian Nunes, from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, talked to the men and were told that a majority either spoke or understood Spanish, with the bishops deciding the Mass would be mostly in Spanish.

A quarter of the men were Catholic and received the sacrament of confession before Mass and then communion during Mass, Marquez said.

While it was Brennan’s first visit to an ICE detention facility, Marquez said the diocese hopes to get into more ICE detention centers in the next couple of months.

Marquez said seeing the “frustration and fear in their eyes” in those who were detained at California City’s ICE detention center made it more urgent for the Fresno diocese to figure out what more the bishop’s office can do.

The dioceses have an ongoing ministry for the needs of migrants throughout the Central Valley, Marquez said, adding that through Catholic Charities, its immigration department helps people with legal needs such as becoming U.S. citizens.

“So, our efforts are ongoing,” Marquez said. “After the detention facility visit, it’s just again, more advocacy and more communication to the Catholics here in our Central Valley about how important and urgent this need is.”

Fresno drivers may want to plan for longer commute times.

Parts of Highway 41 are closing in both directions due to roadwork, according to the California Department of Transportation.

Caltrans crews will shut down sections of select lanes due to pavement repairs and sealing, the state roads agency said via Facebook.

“Motorists should plan accordingly,” Caltrans said.

Here’s what to know:

When is Highway 41 closing in Fresno?

Caltrans closed the No. 2 lane of southbound Highway 41 from just south of Laguna Avenue to Excelsior Avenue for pavement repairs starting at 8 a.m. Tuesday, March 3.

That lane will remain closed to traffic until 2:15pm. Tuesday, Caltrans said in a Monday, March 2, Facebook post.

Motorists should “expect delays” during this time, the state roads agency said.

Where can I expect roadwork in Fresno?

Caltrans is also planning to close parts of the No. 2 lane of northbound Highway 41.

The No. 2 lane of the highway will close from Rose Avenue to Floral Avenue on Wednesday, March 4, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for “asphalt sealing operations,” Caltrans said in a Tuesday, March 3, Facebook post.

Caltrans will close the No. 2 lane from Nebraska Avenue to Rose Avenue from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 5, for the same reason.

The No. 2 lane of Highway 41 will close from Saginaw Avenue to Nebraska Avenue on Friday, March 6, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for asphalt sealing, the state roads agency said.

Which Highway 99 ramp is closing? When?

Also on Tuesday, Caltrans closed the southbound Highway 99 on-ramp at Olive Avenue due to “landscaping operations.”

The ramp was expected to reopen at 3 p.m., the agency said in a Tuesday Facebook post.

“Alternate routes are advised” during the close, Caltrans said.

How long will freeway construction last?

Highway closures could last for longer periods of time each day “due to delays caused by weather or uncontrollable events that may occur during maintenance,” Caltrans said.

Roadwork is “weather permitting,” the state road agency said.

Caltrans reminded motorists to “drive with extra care and allow additional travel time while travelling in the maintenance area.”

A new ban on blackjack is set to start April 1 in California because of recently-approved state regulations that stand to benefit Native American casinos but could hurt licensed card rooms, including Fresno’s Club One Casino and Clovis’ 500 Club Casino.

Club One owner Kyle Kirkland told The Fresno Bee on Wednesday that the ban could mean a drop in revenue that dramatically reduces his business’ tax contributions to the city of Fresno’s General Fund that average about $1 million annually. It could also eventually mean fewer jobs at Club One and 500 Club, he said.

“You’re talking about 500-600 working families in the county of Fresno immediately impacted by this,” said Kirkland, who is also president of the California Gaming Association.

California law since 2000 has allowed Native American casinos the exclusive right to offer blackjack games in which players compete against the house, though card rooms have instead used player-dealers employed by a third party for blackjack-style games.

The new regulations, proposed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the Bureau of Gambling Control, essentially ban card room blackjack and place stricter rules on player-dealers. They were approved Friday by the state’s Office of Administrative law, and California card rooms have until May 31 to submit plans for compliance.

The controversial approval comes after years of tribal casinos arguing card rooms were skirting the law by offering modified styles of blackjack. The rules received 1,764 public comments — including opposition from Fresno-area elected officials and support from the tribal gaming community — but were approved without “any substantive changes to the proposed regulations,” according to a Monday news release from Bonta’s office.

Kirkland said he believes the new rules are a result of the Native American gaming industry’s financial influence and political campaign contributions.

The California Nations Indian Gaming Association, a main supporter of the new rules, did not respond to The Bee’s request for comment Monday.

Legal action is plan A, says Fresno’s Club One

Kirkland said blackjack is about 25% of Club One’s revenue base, and player-dealer games are about 60% of its revenue base.

He estimates a drop in business from the new regulations would cause a 75% decrease in the tax revenue Club One contributes to the city of Fresno’s General Fund.

While Club One contributes $1 million annually in Fresno, Kirkland said there are smaller Southern California cities that heavily depend on card room tax revenue.

“It’s obviously super critical to us (in Fresno),” Kirkland said, “but there are some cities in Southern California that will be filing for bankruptcy if this goes through.”

Though Bonta’s Monday news release says the state followed the law by responding to each public comment and providing the final regulations publicly, Kirkland said he believes the state’s process was flawed.

“Plan A is we have to initiate legal action to push back against this,” he said. “Plan B is, ‘What’s this mean for Club One? What parts of our business can be saved.’ ”

Kirkland added that he’s never heard complaints about Club One’s games causing public harm, except from tribal casinos.

CA Native groups support stricter rules

In a public comment about the regulations last May, the California Nations Indian Gaming Association said the then-proposed rules were “a good first step.”

“For nearly a decade, we and many tribal governments throughout California have been seeking relief from what we believe to be unlawful games at card rooms,” wrote James Siva, the association’s chairman.

But the association at the time asked for further tightening of the proposed rules, arguing they contained ambiguities that card rooms could use to circumvent the rules.

The association also wanted mandatory penalties for violations of the new blackjack and player-dealer regulations, adding that there are often “wink and nod” approaches to these games in card rooms.

“While both (regulations) should be improved significantly, we commend the effort to finally address the lack of clarity about the games permitted at California card rooms, which has resulted in widespread illegal gaming,” Siva wrote.

He added that voter-approved gaming rights have been “vital to California tribal governments” and the services they provide their communities, including housing, education, healthcare and more. Tribal gaming itself generates $3.4 billion in taxes for federal, state and local governments, Siva wrote.