The Edge January/February 2026

BUILDING YOUR TEAM

“We were also being very active in the immigration debate right now. While we know H-2B is a labor issue, not an immigration issue, that’s not the way it’s always perceived on Capitol Hill. So we are staying very active and involved in conversations on immigration so that A) regardless of H-2B, there could be more legal workers here, and B) if something moves on immigration, it’s a good opportunity to tie H-2B to it.” –Andrew Bray, NALP senior vice president of government relations and membership

important to talk to representatives on both sides of the aisle. “If you don’t agree, shake their hand on your way out the door and keep that door open and just keep having those conversations,” Brummel says. “You’re probably not going to change their opin ion, but if you still have that relationship and open dialogue, there’s respect there.” Brummel suggests educating clients about the H-2B program as well so they can advocate as well. “When they’re talking about it, then it builds up momentum,” Brummel says. “From going national and letting all our elected officials know to our local people, it just builds up momentum. Otherwise, we’re just a small issue in the big scheme of everything.” Another effective advocacy method is to tell your story through the letter-writ ing campaigns NALP organizes. “Those calls to action make it really simple,” Stratton says. “If you just sign up for the alerts, you can send it out to your team members and make sure that as many times as your message can be

we are staying very active and involved in conversations on immigration so that A) regardless of H-2B, there could be more legal workers here, and B) if some thing moves on immigration, it’s a good opportunity to tie H-2B to it.” Brummel acknowledges that the state of the program is frustrating, but unless the industry keeps fighting for H-2B, nothing will change. “If we take our foot off the gas, or if we try to change our direction on it, it’s going to fall off the radar and we have momentum,” Brummel says. “We have the buy-in. We’re getting somewhere. It’s just definitely not as quick as any of us want.” Brummel encourages more compa nies to participate in sending emails to their representatives and attending the fly-ins. “The more voices we can add on all our issues, the better off we are versus letting everybody else carry the weight,” Brummel says. “When you go to the fly-ins, it’s the same 200 people. But if we got a fly-in where we had 800 or 1,000 people, that’d make a huge difference. Also, realize that one fly-in is not going to make a difference. You got to keep go ing. You’ve got to keep in front of them when they’re back in the district.” TE

spread and spoken, it can be heard.” Swortzel says he’s written letters to their representatives with the help of NALP. Bray explains that staffers are respon sible for tracking emails, mail and phone calls and giving a weekly report to their Congressperson about specific issues. He encourages landscape companies to also attend the H-2B townhalls, join the H-2B work group, and sign up for The Advocate newsletter. NALP’S ADVOCACY EFFORTS Since 2018, NALP has helped increase or maintain the number of additional visas available. “We’ve had the administration assert their discretionary authority at an earlier date, which is critical to allowing people to get their visas when they really need them,” Bray says. NALP’s advocacy goals for H-2B in 2026 are to have the supplemental visas released, to have the certified seasonal employer language enacted into the ap propriations for FY 2026 and to introduce a separate bill that permanently includes the certified season employer language. “We were also being very active in the immigration debate right now,” Bray says. “While we know H-2B is a labor issue, not an immigration issue, that’s not the way it’s always perceived on Capitol Hill. So

 KEY TAKEAWAYS ■ Lawmakers often conflate H-2B with immigration despite workers’ tem

H-2B program and why it is needed. ■ Consistent advocacy including attending fly ins, sending emails and participating in townhalls all maintain momentum needed for long-term change.

porary status. Advocacy helps educate them on the facts of the program. ■ Sharing personal stories backed up by data can help legislators under stand the impact of the

16 The Edge // January/February 2026