A U.S. District Court Judge issued an injunction Monday blocking farmworkers in the U.S. on H-2A visas from unionizing in 17 states. The decision halts a recent Labor Department rule intended to give H-2A workers new protections for self-advocacy.

In her ruling, Judge Lisa Wood acknowledged the Department of Labor has the authority to make rules governing H-2A workers. However, she says the Labor Department does not have the authority to “create law or protect newly created rights of agricultural workers.” That authority, she says, belongs to Congress.

Citing previous legal precedents, Woods determined that issuing a nationwide injunction would give a single district court an outsized role in the federal systems. Therefore, her ruling only affects those listed as plaintiffs in the case initiated by the Southern Legal Foundation.

Those plaintiffs include the states as Georgia, Kansas, South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia, as well as Miles Berry Farm and Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.

The National Council of Agricultural Employees, a trade association for ag employers, calls the Labor Department rule a “disturbing regulation.” NCAE president and CEO Michael Marsh accuses the DOL of long implementing rules unfairly targeting farmers and ranchers. He contends the department also knew the new rule exceeded its authority granted under the U.S. Constitution

“Rather than acknowledge the comments submitted by NCAE and many others which brought this overreach to their attention, the Department chose to promulgate this rule in hopes that an already embattled and struggling agricultural community would be too weary to fight,” Marsh says “What the Department does not understand is that America’s farmers and ranchers are tough and do not back down from a battle for what is right. This is a victory for them.”

So far, the Department of Labor has not responded to Judge Wood’s decision.

When the new farmworker protections were announced in April, Biden administration officials framed them as a way to protect vulnerable H-2A workers from abuses. They included a provision allowing workers to engage in advocacy and self-organization. H-2A workers were also given the right to decline employee-sponsored meetings discouraging them from unionizing.

“H-2A workers too frequently face abusive working conditions that undercut all farmworkers in the U.S.,” Acting Secretary Julie Su said on April 29 when the rule was announced. “This rule ensures farmworkers employed through the H-2A program are treated fairly, have a voice in their workplace and are able to perform their work safely.”

While the injunction currently applies to only 17 states, the Labor Department rule may soon face additional legal challenges.