President Donald Trump, citing pressure from the agriculture and hospitality sectors, says farmworkers who are in the country illegally shouldn’t be deported and reiterated that the administration would be taking action on the issue. “We’re going to have an order on that coming out soon,” he said Thursday in response to a reporter’s question at a White House ceremony.
Trump didn’t elaborate on what the administration would do about farmworkers and hospitality industry employees. Trump had previously suggested that farmworkers would be allowed to stay but required to return to their countries temporarily. Trump’s latest remarks followed enforcement actions this week on farms in California and at a meatpacking plant in Omaha, Nebraska. Trump said, “Our farmers are being hurt badly. They have very good workers. They’ve worked for them for 20 years. They’re not citizens, but they’ve turned out to be great. We’re going to have to do something about that.”
National Council of Farmer Cooperatives President Chuck Conner issued a statement after President Trump’s remarks on ag immigration enforcement saying “I want to commend President Trump for today’s statements recognizing the indispensable role of long‑time foreign‑born farm workers in U.S. agriculture. During his press briefing, he acknowledged that recent aggressive immigration enforcement is stripping farms of experienced labor that can’t easily be replaced — and he signaled that ‘changes are coming’ to strike a balance between protecting American farmers and targeting criminal elements. NCFC believes that the changes the President refers to must, at the end of the day, lead to the end of widespread enforcement actions on farms and at ag processing facilities that are not targeting violent criminals.”