UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ) OVERDEVEST NURSERIES, L.P., ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 18-1347 (RBW) ) EUGENE SCALIA, in his official capacity ) as the Secretary of the United States ) ) Department of Labor, et al.,1 ) ) Defendants. ) MEMORANDUM OPINION The plaintiff, Overdevest Nurseries, L.P., brings this civil action against Eugene Scalia, in his official capacity as the Secretary of the United States Department of Labor (the “Department”); Cheryl Stanton, in her official capacity as the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department (the “Wage and Hour Division”); and John P. Pallasch, in his official capacity as the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training for the Department (collectively, the “defendants”), pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. §§ 701–706 (2018). See Complaint and Prayer for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“Compl.” or the “Complaint”) ¶¶ 12, 37–47. Currently pending before the Court are (1) the Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment (“Pl.’s Mot.”) and (2) the Defendants’ Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment and Opposition to Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment (“Defs.’ Mot.”). Upon careful consideration of the parties’ submissions,2 the Court concludes for the 1 Eugene Scalia, Cheryl Stanton, and John P. Pallasch are substituted as the proper party defendants pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d). 2 In addition to the filings already identified, the Court considered the following submissions in rendering its (continued . . . ) following reasons that it must deny the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and grant the defendants’ cross-motion for summary judgment. I. BACKGROUND A. Statutory and Regulatory Framework “The Immigration and Nationality Act (‘INA’), 8 U.S.C. §[§] 1101[–1537 (2018)], permits employers to hire temporary foreign workers ‘to perform agricultural labor or services’ in the United States.” Garcia v. Acosta, 393 F. Supp. 3d 93, 96 (D.D.C. 2019) (quoting 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(A)). [F]oreign workers hired to perform temporary agricultural work in the United States can be granted H-2A non-immigrant status [(“H-2A workers”)] through a program that extends temporary visas to nonimmigrant foreign workers who “hav[e] a residence in a foreign country which [they] ha[ve] no intention of abandoning [and] who [are] coming [ ] to the United States to perform agricultural labor or services . . . of a temporary or seasonal nature” (the “H-2A program”). United Farm Workers v. Solis, 697 F. Supp. 2d 5, 6 (D.D.C. 2010) (alterations in original) (quoting 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)). “An employer seeking to hire H-2A [ ] workers must first seek certification from the Department[,]” Mendoza v. Perez, 754 F.3d 1002, 1007 (D.C. Cir. 2014), that (A) there are not sufficient workers who are able, willing, and qualified, and who will be available at the time and place needed, to perform the labor or services involved in the petition, and (B) the employment of the alien in such labor or services will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers in the United States similarly employed[,] ...
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