Trump allows more foreign ag workers, eases off ICE raids on farms
The Trump administration appears to be sensitive to increases in the cost of food due to labor shortages on farms caused by immigration enforcement.
The administration last month made changes to the H-2A visa program, which allows employers to hire foreign workers for temporary agricultural jobs. Under the new rule, the Department of Homeland Security will approve H-2A visas more quickly.
At the same time, Immigration and Customs Enforcement in recent months appears to be refraining from agricultural workplace raids, even as it conducts immigration operations in Democratic-led cities.
“Our immigration system has been broken for decades, and we finally have a President who is enforcing the law and prioritizing fixing programs farmers and ranchers rely on to produce the safest and most productive food supply in the world,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in an email to Stateline.
