Immigration

For decades, Congressman Jim Costa has fought for an immigration system that is fair, humane, and rooted in economic reality—especially for the families and workers who fuel the San Joaquin Valley. He knows immigration reform has never been easy. From President Reagan’s 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act to the “Gang of Eight” Senate bill in 2013, to multiple bipartisan pushes that fell short, the politics have always been difficult, even when the solutions were clear. But Costa has never let that stop him from pushing forward.

Costa has consistently backed legislation to protect Dreamers, including co-sponsoring the American Dream and Promise Act, which provides permanent legal status for those brought to the U.S. as children. Eleven years after DACA, Dreamers are teachers, nurses, and soldiers, yet they still live with uncertainty. Costa believes it's long past time to give them the security they deserve. He also co-sponsored the Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929, which would update the immigration registry to allow long-settled, law-abiding immigrants to apply for legal status, bringing dignity to thousands of families in communities like the Valley.

Costa has been a national leader on farmworker immigration. As a co-author of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, he helped pass a bipartisan bill to provide legal status for undocumented farmworkers and modernize the outdated H-2A visa program. This legislation reflects the reality of agriculture in California: without immigrant labor, the Valley’s economy cannot function. Despite broad support, including Republicans, Democrats, and agricultural groups across the country, the bill stalled in the Senate, just like so many efforts before it, including the Gang of Eight's 2013 comprehensive immigration reform bill backed by 13 bipartisan senators. Costa has remained undeterred, continuing to press for action and build coalitions.

As a member of the House Democrats’ Border Security Task Force, Costa supports smart, effective border security, not fear-based politics. He has pushed and voted to hire more border patrol agents, invest in detection technology, and crack down on fentanyl trafficking. In 2024, he co-led the bipartisan Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act in the House that mirrored a Senate deal that would have strengthened enforcement while advancing long-overdue reforms. For the San Joaquin Valley, immigration is personal, and Costa has consistently fought to protect Dreamers, farmworkers, and legal pathways while securing the border, proving that real solutions are possible when leaders put in the work.