New farmworker housing project emerges in Sunnyside amid labor and immigration shifts

May 7-A hotel in central Washington is being converted to a temporary home for farmworkers as a change in federal law makes it easier to pay them less.

Recent documents and a newly created website show Sunnyside's FairBridge Inn & Suites is transitioning to H-2A worker housing, though no formal announcements have been made publicly.

According to Yakima County records, the Sunnyside FairBridge Inn & Suites was sold Dec. 9 for $2.9 million to Central Valley Housing LLC, managed by Stevan Galich, a Chicago native. A website tied to the property describes it as "dependable group housing that supports seasonal and H-2A workers with practical bunkbed accommodations and self-service kitchens."

This follows policy changes last year that would allow employers to deduct housing costs from H-2A worker paychecks.

Galich declined to comment.

The H-2A visa program, established in 1986, allows foreign workers, mainly from Mexico, to come to the United States temporarily to fill agricultural jobs. As of June 2025, there were about 28,000 approved H-2A workers in Washington.

In October, the White House announced regulatory changes to the Adverse Effect Wage Rate, which sets the minimum wage employers must pay temporary foreign agricultural workers under the H-2A program. Employers who provide housing to H-2A workers will also be allowed to deduct $2.49 per hour for housing costs in Washington state.

This marks the first time H-2A workers will have to pay for employer-provided housing, which had previously been required to be free under federal law.

According to Department of Revenue records, permits for remodeling began in January just one month after the sale. The work includes installing Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupters, which are used to prevent electrical fires, and replacing wall outlets to meet dormitory safety standards. Records indicate the changes are required as the hotel's 48 rooms are converted into dormitory-style housing. It's unclear, however, how many workers will be housed in each room.

Additionally, records obtained by The Spokesman-Review and Spokane Public Radio also show plans for two new detached buildings, each measuring 1,300 square feet, would serve as shared cooking and dining facilities.

The estimated cost of the project is about $354,562.

Scott Dilley, communications director for the Worker and Farmer Labor Association, said the organization has heard increased interest for H-2A workers, and a key component with that is housing.

"We just don't have enough U.S. workers. We haven't for years and we still don't, so people do need H-2A workers," Dilley said.

"The other thing is immigration enforcement. You know, there are concerns about what that will mean for workers, and there is now renewed interest in H-2A, because growers are facing a reality where they need to have some security. They need to know that they're going to have workers for the season," he said.

Dilley said the organization has heard about the hotel conversion but hasn't been in contact with Galich.

Labor advocates, however, say the expansion of H-2A housing raises concerns about the impact for local workers.

Lionor Galindo Cardenas, political legislative coordinator for United Farm Workers, said in a statement that farmworkers are particularly vulnerable and questioned how much workers will be charged for housing.

"At a time when so many local resident farmworkers are struggling to find work, it's concerning that growers are looking to bring in more guest workers, meaning fewer jobs and reduced hours for local residents," Cardenas said.

Maricela Santana-Walle, environmental justice coordinator for We Are Ella, said she also heard similar concerns from local farmworkers.

"A lot of stories that I've heard from farmworkers is that they've had to travel to places near Oregon, you know, going up farther away to look for jobs," she said.

We Are Ella is a Latina-led social justice organization based in the lower Yakima Valley.

"They're being displaced by H-2A workers," Santana Walle said. "... But a lot of it builds into the profitability of these companies and them wanting to maximize their gains with having to pay as little resources as possible and pay as little wages as they can for these people."

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This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 11:43 PM.