(The Hill) — President Donald Trump announced that a temporary permit will be issued for migrants employed in agriculture and hospitality sectors. This measure is intended to provide employers with greater control, following the administration’s mixed signals regarding exceptions in widespread deportation policies.
In an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo, Trump was questioned about his comments implying that there would be leniency in deporting individuals working in farms and hotels.
“I don’t back away,” Trump responded. “I highly value our farmers. When we enter a farm and remove workers who have been there for 15 to 20 years, who are good, who may have entered incorrectly, we’re going to implement a plan that allows farmers to take the lead. The farmer knows he’s not going to hire a criminal.”
Trump said he wants to support farmers and said that the administration will establish a program to allow a pass for migrant workers in the industry.
“But you know, when you go into a farm and you set somebody working with them for nine years doing this kind of work, which is hard work to do and a lot of people aren’t going to do it, and you end up destroying a farmer because you took all the people away— It’s a problem. You know, I’m on both sides of the thing. I’m the strongest immigration guy that there’s ever been, but I’m also the strongest farmer guy that there’s ever been, and that includes also hotels and, you know, places where people work, a certain group of people work,” the president added.
He continued, “We’re working on it right now. We’re going to work it so that, 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.”
Trump, earlier in the month, acknowledged concerns among the agriculture and hospitality industries that his administration’s immigration enforcement was taking away workers’ keys to those businesses.
His acknowledgment led to a pause in enforcement at farms, hotels and other locations, but days later, the administration seemed to reverse course.
Border czar Tom Homan told reporters the administration would “continue to do worksite enforcement operations, even on farms and hotels, but based on a prioritized basis.”
Trump then, days later, told reporters that he was still exploring ways to help farmers.
“We’re looking at doing something where, in the case of good reputable farmers, they can take responsibility for the people that they hire and let them have responsibility because we can’t put the farms out of business,” the president recently said.
