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11 months ago
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US President Donald Trump said his administration is working on plans to create a temporary pass system for immigrants working in agriculture and hospitality, signaling a potential carve-out amid an aggressive push to ramp up deportations.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump acknowledged the strain federal immigration raids have placed on farms and other businesses that rely on long-serving immigrant labor.
“I don’t back away. What I do have, I cherish our farmers,” Trump told the host.
The President described the dilemma faced by farmers whose workers are swept up in enforcement operations: “When we go into a farm and we take away people that have been working there for 15 and 20 years, who were good, who possibly came in incorrectly… you end up destroying a farmer because you took all the people away,” Trump said.
Temporary work pass proposal
Trump said the administration is now working on a solution: “We’re going to do something for farmers where we can let the farmer sort of be in charge. The farmer knows he’s not going to hire a murderer,” he said.
“We’re working on it right now… some kind of a temporary pass, where people pay taxes, where the farmer can have a little control as opposed to you walk in and take everybody away.”
He emphasised that while he remains committed to removing criminals, he also wants to protect industries facing worker shortages.
“I’m the strongest immigration guy that there’s ever been, but I’m also the strongest farmer guy that there’s ever been,” he added.
Earlier warnings over labor shortages
Earlier this month, Trump raised similar concerns on his Truth Social account, citing complaints from agricultural and hospitality employers.
“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 on June 12.
He criticised the previous administration: “In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”
Deportation push and voluntary departure program
Trump’s comments come as the Department of Homeland Security has launched new deportation initiatives targeting individuals with criminal convictions and those who entered illegally under President Biden.
DHS officials are also encouraging voluntary departures by offering $1,000 and free travel for migrants without criminal records who agree to leave the country.
Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations have faced widespread protests, including demonstrations and riots in Los Angeles.
The administration has not yet released details or a timeline for the proposed temporary pass program.
English (US) ·