Federal Raids Resume on Farms in the Search for Undocumented Workers

Agriculture producers had warned the Trump administration for months, along with members of Congress, that deportation raids by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) could devastate food production and processing. Many workers in the industry are immigrants. Some of them have legal status, while others do not.

Last week, they thought that their industry might be spared from the administration’s attempts to deport millions of people. But on Monday, The Washington Post was among the national outlets that reported that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security alerted its staff that it would reverse its previous guidance: federal agents would again conduct immigration raids at farms, hotels, and restaurants.

The Washington Post reported, “Officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including its Homeland Security Investigations division, told agency leaders in a call Monday that agents must continue conducting immigration raids at agricultural businesses, hotels and restaurants, according to two people familiar with the call. The new instructions were shared in an 11 a.m. call to representatives from 30 field offices across the country.”

Agricultural industry leaders who opposed the raids had hoped that President Donald Trump had been sympathetic to their plight, especially when they heard some of his comments.

President Trump Discussed Raids on Farms

"We can't take farmers and take all their people and send them back because they don't have maybe what they're supposed to have, maybe not," Trump said. "We can't do that to our farmers. And leisure, too. Hotels. We're gonna have to use a lot of common sense on that."

CBS also reported on the federal law enforcement’s change in focus. The administration has increased the number of arrests that agents are making compared to earlier in the year but is not yet reaching the stated goals.

“So far in June, ICE has averaged more than 1,300 arrests each day, a more than 100% increase from President Trump's first 100 days in office, when the agency recorded a 660 daily arrest rate, according to internal government data obtained by CBS News. On Saturday, ICE was holding more than 56,000 individuals in detention facilities throughout the country, a record high, the figures show,” CBS reported.  

“While ICE operations have expanded recently, the arrests recorded by the agency remain well below the 3,000 daily arrest rate pushed by White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller,” the article added.

Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin discussed the clarification on immigration raids. She said, "There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine (immigration enforcement) efforts. Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability.''

RELATED: California farmland has lost billions of dollars in value because of a combination of factors, Scott Bozzo, California’s American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers 2025 Farm Manager of the Year, told American Farmland Owner.