Trump promises farmers "changes are coming" to immigration crackdown

Driving the news: "Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace," the president wrote Thursday.

• Trump tried to blame former President Biden for allowing "Criminals" to apply for farmworker jobs.
• "This is not good," he continued. "We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!"
• Asked what those changes may be, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Axios in a statement, "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."

The latest: "Our farmers are being hurt badly," the president said during a bill-signing ceremony Thursday.

• "They have very good workers," he continued. "They've worked for them for 20 years; they're not citizens, but they've turned out to be ... great, and we're going to have to do something about that."
• He said there would be a related order "pretty soon."

What they're saying: American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall welcomed Trump's comments in a statement Thursday, noting the potential for supply chain disruptions if workers "are not present in fields and barns."

• His statement read, "We appreciate President Trump's comments this afternoon recognizing the contributions of farmworkers who play a vital role in growing food across America, and committing to preserve the ability of farms to provide a safe and secure food supply."

By the numbers: According to the Agriculture Department, 42% of crop farmworkers from 2020 to 2022 lacked legal status.

Friction point: Even some Republicans have recently warned the president that his immigration crackdown may go too far, as workers and longtime residents are caught in the wide net of Trump's deportation drive.

• "I think a big part of that is we all need to focus on convicted criminal, illegal aliens" instead of a "milker of cows," Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) told CNN.

• Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) urged administration officials to "prioritize the removal of known criminals over the hardworking people who have lived peacefully in the Valley for years."

Yes, but: Top Trump aide Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem are calling for immigration agents to arrest 3,000 people a day, Axios' Brittany Gibson and Stef Kight reported.

• That's triple the number of daily arrests agents were making in the early days of Trump's term, they write.

Zoom in: As ICE conducts operations throughout California, where a significant portion of agricultural workers are undocumented, reported raids have fueled fear.

• United Farm Workers in a statement condemned federal actions "designed to terrorize and separate farm worker communities" as "an attack on Californians and a dangerous waste of resources."
• DHS did not respond to Axios' request to confirm such actions had taken place.
• In a video shared by Southern California's ABC7 Eyewitness News, agents appear to chase a farmworker through rows of crops in Oxnard, California.
• UFW called on "every level of government to take every possible measure to protect immigrant workers and their families."

Go deeper: Immigration fight moves to the workplace

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional comments from Trump.