President Donald Trump has directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to resume immigration raids at farms, hotels, and other businesses, despite having previously suggested that such operations would be temporarily halted.
Trump took to social media last Thursday to say he was open to temporarily exempting the agriculture and hospitality sectors from enforcement actions. The apparent shift followed reports that industry leaders warned of severe labor shortages if immigrant workers were removed.
“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,” Trump wrote.
“In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs,” he added. “This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”
The New York Times reported that a senior ICE official had initially told agents to suspend raids on sectors such as agriculture, meatpacking, restaurants, and hotels. Agents were also reportedly advised to avoid detaining undocumented immigrants unless they had committed additional crimes beyond illegal entry.
However, following strong backlash from parts of Trump’s political base, the Washington Post reported Monday that the president reversed that position and ordered ICE to continue with its standard enforcement operations. Sources familiar with an agency-wide call said that ICE officials, including from the Homeland Security Investigations division, informed leadership that immigration enforcement at businesses would proceed without pause.
The decision was communicated during a conference call with 30 ICE leaders nationwide. It followed an earlier internal email from a DHS official on Thursday instructing agents to “hold on all worksite enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels.”
“There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE’s efforts,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Monday. “Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability.”
According to reports, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller opposed offering industry-specific exemptions, clashing with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who supported temporary relief for those sectors.
if you are an invader here illegally, prepare to be rounded up and deported!