2 months ago
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(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump has pledged to support American farmers who trust connected migrant workers to run their farms, but until Thursday, details of however that would enactment remained limited.
But astatine a rally successful Iowa, Trump said that helium would let the farmers who prosecute migrants to instrumentality complaint and let the migrants moving successful the cultivation manufacture to stay successful the country. The program would not make a way to citizenship arsenic immoderate migration advocates person called for, but would support them from the anticipation of being detained by ICE agents during workplace raids, Trump said.
"If a husbandman has been with 1 of these radical that worked truthful hard – they crook implicit each day, we don't person excessively galore radical that tin bash that, but they enactment precise hard, and they cognize him precise well, and immoderate of the farmers are literally, you know, they outcry erstwhile they spot this happen," Trump said. "If a husbandman is consenting to vouch for these people, successful immoderate mode … I deliberation we're going to person to conscionable accidental that's going to beryllium good, right?"
Trump said that by implementing a program successful which workplace workers were capable to debar being taken into custody, it would payment a farming manufacture that contributed astir $223 cardinal to the nation’s gross home merchandise successful 2023.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins
speaks with reporters astatine the White House, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, successful Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)Trump said that helium doesn’t privation to spot migration enforcement efforts that effect successful farms losing groups of workers. Trump told supporters astatine Thursday’s lawsuit astatine the Iowa State Fairgrounds that helium had heard of migrants who had worked for farms for much than 15 years “get thrown retired beauteous viciously.”
“We can’t person that,” the president said, adding, "We privation the farms to bash great."
The White House and White House Border Czar Tom Homan person declined to supply much specifics astir a “temporary pass” for migrants moving successful the farming and hospitality industries. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson declined to remark erstwhile asked for absorption to Trump’s program by NewsNation this week.
The Center for Migration Studies recovered 86% of workers are foreign-born, and 45% are successful the U.S. illegally, often without documentation.
Trump credited Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins with bringing the plight of migrant workplace workers to his attention. Trump said, Rollins told him, 'So we person a small problem. The farmers are losing a batch of people.'
"And we figured it retired and we person immoderate worldly being written," Trump added.
Trump said that the program would let migrants to debar being deported, but that portion being allowed to stay successful the state and wage taxes, his extortion does not supply a way to U.S. citizenship. Yet, portion putting the farmers yet successful complaint of the migrants they employ, Trump said helium would clasp farmers liable if occupation arose.
“We’ll fto the illegals stay, and we’ll propulsion the husbandman the hellhole out, okay? Get ready, farmer,” Trump said.
Despite providing protection, Teresa Romero, the president of United Farm Workers, which represents much than 10,000 migrant tract workers successful California, Oregon, Washington and New York, told NewsNation this week that a much imperishable solution is needed.
Romero said that the national has backed the bipartisan Farm Workforce Modernization Act , which is designed to betterment the H-2A visa program. She said that portion workplace workers were characterized arsenic indispensable during the COVID-19 pandemic, that is nary longer the case.
Many of the migrant tract workers person been astatine their respective places of employment for 30 oregon 40 years and are present seeing their children articulation the workforce, Romero added. But amid threats of ICE raids, she said fearfulness continues to turn among the moving migrant colonisation to the constituent wherever galore fearfulness coming to work. The ones who are showing up often don't consciousness valued.
“They consciousness similar they are disposable,” Romero said.
