Trump suggests undocumented farm workers may be spared
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President Trump speaks to reporters at a New Jersey airport. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
Farmers may be able to keep employing undocumented workers without fear of raids, under a system where they would assume "responsibility" for them, President Trump indicated on Friday.
Why it matters: The administration has changed its position repeatedly in recent days on whether farm workers were subject to more aggressive immigration crackdowns or not.
- In the meantime, anecdotes suggest farmers are struggling to handle their crops, because so many workers aren't showing up for fear of being detained by ICE.
The big picture: Trump is in the middle of a conflict between immigration hardliners in his administration on one side, and business leaders concerned about their operations and the stability of the nation's food supply on the other.
- By the government's own estimates, about 40% of all crop workers nationwide are undocumented.
- In an industry that's faced labor shortages for years, suddenly choking off — or scaring off — the supply of workers could be disastrous.
What they're saying "We're looking at doing something where in the case of good, reputable farmers, they can take responsibility for the people that they hire, and let them have responsibility, because we can't put the farms out of business, and at the same time, we don't want to hurt people that aren't criminals," Trump told reporters after arriving at a New Jersey airport.
- "You've had people that have worked on farms for 20 years, it's very hard to go in there and say, you know, 'you're coming out.' But we're going to let the farmers take responsibility, they're great people, they'll do it, they know the good and the bad," Trump said.
- "I never want to hurt our farmers. Our farmers are great people. They keep us happy and healthy and fat."
The intrigue: Trump's comments come one day after border czar Tom Homan said immigration raids would continue in the agriculture industry.
Between the lines: It was not clear what this system of responsibility would look like, or how it would work.
- The White House declined to comment.
The bottom line: Trump's comments may be something of a relief to the agriculture industry.
- But as the last week has made clear, everything can change at any time.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details.
