ICE Immigration Raids on Farms Will Resume Despite Trump's Take on Ag Labor
June 18, 2025
Despite comments from President Donald Trump to back off immigration raids on farms, the Department of Homeland Security told Immigration and Customs Enforcement leaders of its 30 field agencies on Monday that agents must continue conducting immigration raids at agricultural businesses, hotels and restaurants, The Washington Post reported late Monday.
The reversal seems to reflect divisions within the Trump administration over whether to exempt industries with long-standing undocumented immigrant workforces from the immigration raids.
Last week, Trump acknowledged the ag and hospitality businesses had lost workers and said changes were coming. On Friday, the White House told ICE not to raid agricultural and hospitality businesses.
Farms were raided in California throughout last week while ICE also raided a small meat processor in Omaha, Nebraska, arresting at least 70 workers.
The New York Times credited Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins with convincing Trump to stop the immigration raids on agricultural businesses, but USDA in a statement said only that Rollins supported the White House position on immigration and deportations.
The American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives and the International Fresh Produce Association praised the White House for pulling back on the raids.
The National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) also wrote Cabinet secretaries and the White House chief of staff over the weekend, highlighting the challenges farmers face in finding workers. "The Council and our members are encouraged by President Trump's recent comments recognizing the critical importance of the agricultural workforce. His comments are spot on," wrote Michael Marsh, president and CEO of NCAE.
Marsh noted farmers need a steady workforce to grow and harvest food.
"Particularly where labor-intensive agriculture is concerned, America's farmers and ranchers cannot complete the task to feed the nation and the world on their own -- they must have ready, willing, available and skilled labor," the letter stated.
The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) has called last week's immigration "disruptive" to the industry.
Source: DTN
