Latest news with #migrantLabor
Reuters
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Trump says he is willing to let migrant laborers stay on US farms
DES MOINES, Iowa, July 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he is willing to let migrant laborers stay in the United States if the farmers they work for will vouch for them. At a campaign-style speech at the Iowa state fairgrounds, Trump said he is working with the Homeland Security Department to help farmers who depend on migrant laborers for their seasonal needs. He said he will also work with the hotel industry on the issue. Trump has been pursuing a hard-line policy on migration and his U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been leading an effort to deport people who crossed into the United States illegally. This has led to some complaints from farmers that their crops are at risk due to a depleted work force. "If a farmer is willing to vouch for these people in some way, Kristi, I think we're going to have to just say that's going to be good, right?" "We don't want to do it where we take all of the workers off the farms," he added, speaking in a Midwestern state where farming is a dominant industry.
Al Arabiya
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Trump says he is willing to let migrant laborers stay on US farms
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he is willing to let migrant laborers stay in the United States if the farmers they work for will vouch for them. At a campaign-style speech at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Trump said he is working with the Homeland Security Department to help farmers who depend on migrant laborers for their seasonal needs. He said he will also work with the hotel industry on the issue. Trump has been pursuing a hard-line policy on migration, and his US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been leading an effort to deport people who crossed into the United States illegally. This has led to some complaints from farmers that their crops are at risk due to a depleted workforce. 'If a farmer is willing to vouch for these people in some way, Kristi, I think we're going to have to just say that's going to be good, right?' 'We don't want to do it where we take all of the workers off the farms,' he added, speaking in a Midwestern state where farming is a dominant industry.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Immigration enforcement takes toll on Texas agriculture
The Brief Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller states that increased immigration enforcement is negatively impacting the agricultural industry. Federal immigration officials are continuing enforcement, despite a brief pause by President Trump in sectors heavily reliant on migrant labor. Farmers are experiencing significant disruption as many undocumented workers are not showing up for work for fear of deportation. ELLIS COUNTY, Texas - State Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller says stepped-up immigration enforcement is taking a toll on the industry. As the effects are being felt not just here in Texas, but beyond, federal immigration officials say they're just doing their jobs. Local perspective Just 40 miles or so south of Dallas sits Lee Calvert's 2,000-acre Ellis County family farm. Calvert knows he's lucky, not having to rely on farmhands to check the chores off, because those who do say absenteeism among hired migrant help has disrupted their entire operations. Big picture view Recent video posted to immigration-rights groups' social media channels shows federal agents conducting raids on California farms. President Donald Trump in the last week briefly paused this type of enforcement within a handful of economic sectors, which rely heavily on migrant labor, like agriculture. Then, it was back to business. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that more than 40 percent of the nation's farm workers are undocumented. What they're saying Calvert is able to run his farm without having to rely on migrant workers. "My father helps me, obviously. My little sister helps. My wife is a huge help, and I've got three sons and they're coming along, doing what they can," Calvert said. Miller, a Republican, says many farms across the country are not so fortunate. "They hear that ICE is coming, or see somebody from INS roll up. Well, they just don't show up, they're scared to come to work," Miller said. Miller tells FOX 4 that dairy farmers have been hit the hardest. "On a dairy, those cows never stay milked. You milk them three times in a 24-hour period. So if the crew doesn't show up, these dairymen go into panic mode," Miller said. According to Vice President JD Vance, they plan to continue their path towards clearing the country of undocumented migrants. "We're enforcing everywhere. In other words, the President has said if you are an illegal immigrant in this country, you ought to voluntarily go back and come through the proper channels." Folks like Calvert agree there's no place in America for migrants with violent criminal backgrounds. But the farmer wishes there was more "gray area." "I think there needs to be a distinction made and a path for people who do want to come here, obey our laws, integrate into our societies, work in our factories, fields, wherever," Calvert said. The Source Information in this article comes from Sid Miller, Lee Calvert, and previous FOX reporting.
Wall Street Journal
15-06-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Trump's Good Deportation Exceptions
Good news on the mass deportation front: President Trump has listened to alarms from farmers and others and offered a reprieve from immigration raids for the agriculture and hospitality industries. We wrote Saturday about the contradictory social-media messages the President was sending last week on deportations. And now we know why. He has instructed the Department of Homeland Security to ease up on deportations on businesses that rely heavily on migrant labor and can't easily find American citizens to fill in.
Reuters
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
US immigration officials told to largely pause raids on farms, hotels, NYT reports
June 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has told immigration officials to largely pause raids and arrests in the agricultural industry, hotels and restaurants, the New York Times reported on Friday. The report cited an internal email and three U.S. officials with knowledge of the guidance. "Effective today, please hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels,' Tatum King, a senior official at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in guidance to regional leaders of the department, the Times added. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the guidance to the Times and said: 'We will follow the president's direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America's streets,' Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. The White House and U.S. department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside of regular business hours. The report comes after Trump said on Thursday he would issue an order soon to address the effects of his immigration crackdown on the country's farm and hotel industries, which rely heavily on migrant labor. U.S. farm industry groups have long wanted Trump to spare their sector from mass deportations, which could upend a food supply chain dependent on immigrants. Trump is carrying out his campaign promise to deport immigrants in the country illegally. But protesters and some Trump supporters have questioned the targeting of those who are not convicted criminals, including in places of employment such as those that sparked last week's protests in Los Angeles.
