Trump Turns to Migrant Workers as Farms Struggle With His Deportations

Source: The New Republic · Bias: Left

Summary

Donald Trump’s solution to the farmworker shortage caused by his violent mass deportation campaign is to embrace migrant labor. The New York Times reports that the Trump administration is making it cheaper to hire migrant farmworkers on temporary visas under the H-2A program. It’s a blatant admission that the White House’s promise that deporting more immigrants would help American workers with better wages and lower unemployment was a farce. “The farm economy is in a difficult situation, and President Trump is utilizing all the tools available to ensure farmers have what they need to be successful,” said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.Under the new policy, hourly rates for workers on H-2A visas have been lowered by $1–$7 depending on the state, with farmers now being allowed to calculate housing as part of the workers’ compensation. With this dramatic reduction in workers’ pay, the United Farm Workers of America, a union representing thousands of workers across the country, has filed a lawsuit claiming that American farmworkers will be pushed out while earning a lot less. “These actions are going to displace domestic farmworkers who have been working in the fields and putting food on dinner tables for decades, and bring a work force that is even more vulnerable to abuse,” Teresa Romero, the union’s president, told the Times. She noted that exploitation and trafficking is already a problem for many migrant workers. Anti-immigration organizations like the Center for Immigration Studies are also against the move, with Mark Krikorian, the group’s executive director, writing in November that such changes would encourage more immigration and reduce automation. The Trump administration seems to be hoping its supporters, other than farmers struggling for labor, won’t notice this and will continue to think the White House is carrying out its deportation agenda, which is otherwise so extreme it has been compared to ethnic cleansing. Meanwhile, its own myths about deportations helping the economy are unraveling.

Related Coverage

More Headlines From March 16, 2026

arallaxNews.io
Trump Turns to Migrant Workers as Farms Struggle With His Deportations
The New Republic

Trump Turns to Migrant Workers as Farms Struggle With His Deportations

Left

Donald Trump’s solution to the farmworker shortage caused by his violent mass deportation campaign is to embrace migrant labor. The New York Times reports that the Trump administration is making it cheaper to hire migrant farmworkers on temporary visas under the H-2A program. It’s a blatant admission that the White House’s promise that deporting more immigrants would help American workers with better wages and lower unemployment was a farce. “The farm economy is in a difficult situation, and President Trump is utilizing all the tools available to ensure farmers have what they need to be successful,” said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.Under the new policy, hourly rates for workers on H-2A visas have been lowered by $1–$7 depending on the state, with farmers now being allowed to calculate housing as part of the workers’ compensation. With this dramatic reduction in workers’ pay, the United Farm Workers of America, a union representing thousands of workers across the country, has filed a lawsuit claiming that American farmworkers will be pushed out while earning a lot less. “These actions are going to displace domestic farmworkers who have been working in the fields and putting food on dinner tables for decades, and bring a work force that is even more vulnerable to abuse,” Teresa Romero, the union’s president, told the Times. She noted that exploitation and trafficking is already a problem for many migrant workers. Anti-immigration organizations like the Center for Immigration Studies are also against the move, with Mark Krikorian, the group’s executive director, writing in November that such changes would encourage more immigration and reduce automation. The Trump administration seems to be hoping its supporters, other than farmers struggling for labor, won’t notice this and will continue to think the White House is carrying out its deportation agenda, which is otherwise so extreme it has been compared to ethnic cleansing. Meanwhile, its own myths about deportations helping the economy are unraveling.

Read Full Story at Source