CIUDAD ACUNA, MEXICO - SEPTEMBER 20: Haitian immigrants cross the Rio Grande back into Mexico from Del Rio, Texas on September 20, 2021 to Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. As U.S. immigration authorities began deporting immigrants back to Haiti from Del Rio, thousands more waited in a camp under an international bridge in Del Rio and others crossed the river back into Mexico to avoid deportation. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans remain vague, particularly regarding the agricultural and hospitality industries, as he appears to have backed away from exempting farm and hotel workers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions.
Last week, the Trump administration announced it would pause some immigration raids targeting agriculture and hospitality businesses.
Senior ICE official Tatum King ordered ICE offices nationwide to “hold on all worksite enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meatpacking plants), restaurants, and operating hotels.”
According to reports, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins played a major role in persuading the president to initiate the policy move. Rollins had suggested that ICE operations should avoid targeting workers in industries heavily reliant on migrant labor, such as agriculture and hospitality.
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Following the announcement to protect workers in these industries, Rollins defended the decision on social media.
“Severe disruptions to our food supply would harm Americans,” said Rollins in a post to social media.
Trump supporters criticized the move, saying the president and Rollins were diverging from their promises of mass deportation.
Others within the Trump administration also disapproved. According to reports, White House deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem were furious with the policy change and were especially opposed to any industry-specific exemptions.
The United Farm Workers claimed on Saturday that ICE raids continued despite Trump’s announced pause, calling out the administration for an apparent lack of continuity.
“If President Trump is actually in charge, he needs to prove it: Stop the sweeps on hardworking Californians. Get serious about building a path forward,” said a UFW official on social media.
Miller, Noem and other administration officials then pushed for an official reversal of the policy and a return to mass deportation efforts.
The pressure appeared to work, as Trump ordered ICE on Sunday to specifically target Democrat-led cities. The following day, ICE officials were instructed to continue raids on hotels, restaurants and agricultural businesses.
Despite the back-and-forth on immigration policies, the White House denied any sense of tension within the administration.
“The entire Trump Administration is moving in the same direction to fulfill the President’s promises and remove illegal aliens from the United States,” said White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson. “We will continue to prioritize removing the worst of the worst, especially in dangerous, Democrat-run sanctuary cities. But anyone who is in the United States illegally is, and has always been, at risk of deportation.”
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