Trump’s ICE shields farmers from raids, then reverses course to deliver on mass deportation promise

President Donald Trump’s administration has reportedly weighed changes to its strict immigration enforcement policies over concerns about how they impact America’s agricultural and hospitality industries.

Last week, Trump’s Department of Homeland Security briefly halted Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids at farms, hotels, and restaurants, according to the New York Times. The DHS reportedly reversed those exemptions on Monday.

‘Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safe guard public safety, national security, and economic stability.’

The Times report followed a post on social media from Trump about the impact of the immigration policies on the agricultural community.

The president wrote, “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.”

“In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs,” Trump continued. “This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”

RELATED: Illegal labor isn’t farming’s future. It’s Big Ag’s crutch.

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The following day, the Times stated that an internal DHS email and three U.S. officials claimed the Trump administration had ordered a pause on ICE raids at farms, hotels, and restaurants.

Senior ICE official Tatum King reportedly issued the new guidance to the agency’s regional leaders.

According to the Times, the email read, “Effective today, please hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels.”

The guidance appeared to contradict border czar Tom Homan’s previous declarations that ICE would significantly increase worksite raids to achieve the administration’s mass deportation goals.

“We acknowledge that by taking this off the table, that we are eliminating a significant # of potential targets,” King reportedly wrote.

Homan stated last week that ICE has increased its arrests to roughly 2,000 per day. According to reports, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller has pushed federal authorities to reach a minimum of 3,000 daily arrests.

RELATED: Trump orders ICE to ramp up deportations in Dem-controlled cities following MAGA backlash over selective pause on raids

Photo by APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images

The new guidance allowed ICE to continue any investigations involving “human trafficking, money laundering, drug smuggling into these industries.” However, agents were instructed not to arrest “noncriminal collaterals,” or illegal aliens who have not committed additional crimes in the United States.

On Monday, the Washington Post reported that the administration lifted its temporary exemption after the DHS learned that White House leadership did not support it.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Blaze News, “The president has been incredibly clear. There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE’s efforts.”

“Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safe guard public safety, national security, and economic stability. These operations target illegal employment networks that undermine American workers, destabilize labor markets, and expose critical infrastructure to exploitation,” McLaughlin said.

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