The president is signaling a regulatory fix to protect farmers from labor shortages while deportations continue targeting criminals.
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration is allowing some deported farm workers who were in the country illegally to return to the United States legally and is preparing new rules to more broadly address farm labor shortages created by an increase in deportations.
In an Aug. 5 interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Trump said the move is intended to protect farmers who rely on longtime employees, while immigration authorities continue large‑scale removals of people he described as dangerous criminals.
“In some cases, we’re sending them back to their country, with a pass back in legally,” he said of illegal immigrant farm workers.
“We’re doing things that are very difficult to do and very complex, but it works really well. We’re sending them back, and then they’re schooling, they’re learning, they’re coming in. They’re coming in legally. We have a lot of that going on, but we’re taking care of our farmers. We can’t let our farmers not have anybody.”
Trump added that new regulations are forthcoming to formalize and expand those efforts.
“We’re not going to do anything to hurt the farmers,” he said. “We’re working on that, and we’re going to be coming out with rules and regulations.”
Balancing Enforcement, Farm Needs
The president has repeatedly vowed “no amnesty” for illegal immigrants but has acknowledged the heavy reliance of U.S. agriculture on undocumented labor.
About 40 percent of the nation’s farmworkers lack legal status, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nonprofit groups such as KFF place the share of unauthorized farmworkers even higher, at around 47 percent of the agricultural workforce.
Trump and his top advisers, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and border czar Tom Homan, have said their focus is on deporting the worst offenders—including gang members and other hardened criminals—while exploring targeted relief for industries such as agriculture and hospitality.
“My job is to operate within the framework provided me by the administration,” Homan told NewsNation in July. “So, if the president comes up with a policy, and says, ‘OK, here’s what we’re going to do with farm workers,’ then ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] will abide by that policy.”
By Tom Ozimek
