When President Donald Trump acknowledged that farmers and hospitality workers were hurting from his mass deportation agenda, industry advocates appreciated the recognition.
But if the president’s subsequent post on Truth Social was meant to soothe anxieties, it “backfired,” one Republican lobbyist told NOTUS.
“We still have a worker shortage. How are you going to solve that? And I don’t know if that tweet made people feel like they were going to solve it anytime sooner,” the lobbyist said.
No one seems to have any details on what the White House plans to do, adding to the uncertainty. And a White House official told the Washington Post Trump “sought to soothe industry leaders in the agriculture and hospitality fields,” and there are “no plans” to change the administration’s approach to deportations, including potential exclusions for agriculture and hospitality industry workers without legal status.
Trump publicly lamented that people who have worked on a farm for “20, 25 years” shouldn’t be thrown out of the country. But his subsequent post asserted that “criminals” were applying to agricultural and hospitality jobs. “We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!” it read.
The president’s post came after his White House border czar, Tom Homan, told Semafor on Wednesday that the administration was planning to “massively expand” worksite operations and crack down on companies employing workers without legal status.
Michael Marsh, president and CEO of the National Council of Agricultural Employers, told NOTUS that Homan’s comment “does create concern.” Both the agriculture and hospitality industries, which rely on foreign workers, were hit hard during the pandemic. They’ve long lobbied to expand legal pathways to immigration to fill the gap.
“If the president’s saying one thing and his border czar’s saying something else with regard to farmers and ranchers, I think Mr. Homan ought to be a little cautious getting in front of the White House on that,” he said.
Anna Kelly, a White House deputy press secretary, did not directly address questions from NOTUS about Homan’s statement and the White House’s plans — or lack thereof.
“President Trump has always stood up for our farmers, who were a major part of his November victory, by working to negotiate fairer trade deals and cut red tape. He will continue to strengthen our agricultural industry and boost exports while keeping his promise to enforce our immigration laws and remove the millions of unvetted illegals who flooded into the United States under Joe Biden,” Kelly said.
Laura Lee Blake, president and CEO of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, told NOTUS in a statement that “we must not cast a wide net that wrongly ensnares hardworking, law-abiding individuals who power America’s hospitality industry.”
“We strongly support the removal of illegal immigrants engaged in violent criminal activity. But we also proudly stand with the many minority employees — many of them immigrants — who work tirelessly in our hotels, raise their families, and serve our guests with pride and excellence,” Blake said.
Sarah Gonzalez, policy communications director at the International Fresh Produce Association, told NOTUS in a statement that workplace immigration enforcement activities are “highly disruptive” and “exacerbating an already fragile labor situation, threatening the long-term viability of U.S. agriculture, and impacting the broader supply chain, from packers and wholesalers to retailers and transportation providers.”
“They are also the culmination of decades of inaction from policymakers and a broken labor system,” Gonzalez said, adding that IFPA “appreciates” the president’s comments.
And Ralph Posner, a spokesperson for the American Hotel & Lodging Association, told NOTUS that the industry is “committed to strict compliance with labor laws and immigration regulations.”
“Along with our members, we continue to communicate with Congress and the administration about the importance of building a strong hospitality and tourism workforce,” Posner said in a statement.
When asked if the president’s post backfired, AHLA declined to comment further.
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Taylor Giorno is a reporter at NOTUS.