The approach to immigration enforcement among farm workers continues to swing back and forth under the Trump administration.
On Friday, President Donald Trump said he’s considering a new policy that would allow the agriculture industry to keep employing immigrants who are not authorized to work, if farmers and ranchers can assume “responsibility” for their workers.
“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," Trump said at a recent press conference. "And at the same time we don't want to hurt people that aren't criminals."
Yet last week, the Department of Homeland Security told Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to continue raids on farms, ranches and dairies across the United States.
That directive was briefly paused by Trump following large ICE operations earlier this month — including the arrests of more than 70 people at a meat-packing facility in Omaha, Nebraska. At the time, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the policy was “very aggressive” and could take long-time immigrant workers away from farms.
Despite pushback from some leaders in the agriculture industry, as well as people advocating for immigrant worker rights, the Trump administration then said it will continue targeting agriculture worksites, as well as in the hospitality industry, with a focus on people with a criminal background.
Many in the agriculture industry are concerned the policy will constrict labor and hurt both the farm business and everyday consumers. That includes Matt Teagarden, the head of the Kansas Livestock Association, which represents more than 5,000 members in the state.
“These raids disrupt our food supply and contribute to higher food prices,” Teagarden said. “In addition to the workers who’ve been detained, these raids contribute to fear in these communities and lead to workers— fully legal workers — staying home out of fear.”
Under orders from the Trump administration, ICE is ramping up arrests and deportations around the U.S., with a reported goal to make a minimum of 3,000 arrests each day.
“There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE’s efforts,” said Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, during an interview with PBS. “Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability.”
For immigrant workers and the rural communities who depend on their labor, the potential for incoming raids is concerning, said Sonia Parras, an immigration attorney in Des Moines, Iowa.
“The unintended consequence is that they destroyed the lives of the immigrant community, but also the industries, the mom-and-pops shops, and businesses,” Parras said. “Is the cost of a raid — on U.S. citizens and the economy of a town and surrounding areas — worth extracting or detaining immigrants in the area?”
In 2008, Parras provided pro-bono legal services when ICE raided a meat-packing plant and arrested nearly 400 people in Postville, Iowa. This past week, she said her phone has been ringing “off the hook” with people calling in a panic, asking for help if they get arrested.
“When the administration — to me — prioritizes punitive enforcement that targets these workers, it creates a bit of a paradox where the very workforce that the farmers relied upon is being driven into the shadows,” said Parras.
Throughout the country, 42% of farm workers were not legally authorized to work in the U.S. in 2022, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Another 19% were immigrants authorized to work through visas or who had legal permanent resident status.
Although Teagarden and others in the agriculture industry support immigration enforcement in the form of “securing” the southern U.S. border and “removing violent criminals,” he said they want to work with Trump and Congress to address the issue in a “reasonable way” that supports the industry.
“It really is clear to me that the people pushing for these raids that target farms and feed yards and dairies, have no idea how farms operate.” Teagarden said. “You can’t just turn off a cow. It doesn’t work that way. Cows have to be milked, cattle have to be fed.”
Work from immigrants in the agriculture industry has allowed labor costs for farmers and ranchers to remain low, and ultimately keep food prices lower for consumers, according to David Ortega, a professor of food economics and policy at Michigan State University.
“The agricultural sector relies heavily on migrant workers in order to do some of those critical activities that many U.S. born workers are either unable or unwilling to perform,” Ortega said. “Things like harvesting, planting, working in meatpacking plants, all of the critical activities that are needed to get food from the farm all the way to the table.”
Some agriculture stakeholders throughout the Midwest, particularly in the specialty crop sector who rely on immigrant labor, are already raising concerns, Ortega said. Without some protections in place for immigrants working in the agriculture industry, the enforcement policy is having a “chilling effect” on workers who are not easily replaced — even those who are authorized to work in the U.S. — he said.
“It's not surprising that we're seeing producers reach out to individuals in elected positions, noting that these activities, the rhetoric that the Trump administration has on illegal immigration and these mass deportations, are affecting their business,” Ortega said.
This story was produced in partnership with Harvest Public Media, a collaboration of public media newsrooms in the Midwest and Great Plains. It reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues.
