Donald Trump has abandoned his brief immigration and customs enforcement (Ice) reprieve for farm and hotel workers, ordering the agency’s raids in those sectors to resume after hardliners crushed a pause that lasted just four days.
Trump first blinked last Thursday, posting on Truth Social that his “very aggressive” raids were hurting farmers and hotels.
The next day, Ice officials reportedly told staff in an internal email to largely lay off raids and arrests in the agricultural, hotel and restaurant industries.
The administration desperately wants workplace raids to hit Miller’s target of 3,000 daily arrests.
Labor groups like United Farm Workers (UFW), which represent a large number of immigrant workers, dismissed the temporary pause on workplace raids in California as never actually being in place.
Following a four-day pause that was crushed by hardliners, Donald Trump has canceled his temporary reprieve for farm and hotel workers from immigration and customs enforcement (Ice) and ordered the agency to resume its raids in those industries.
The Washington Post was the first to report on the whiplash reversal, which highlights the dysfunction engulfing the president’s deportation agenda as Trump wavers between opposing views and rival advisers fight over policy.
The assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Tricia McLaughlin, told the Guardian on Tuesday that the president has been extremely clear. “There won’t be any safe havens for businesses that harbor violent offenders or deliberately attempt to thwart Ice’s initiatives. “”.
As different factions vie for his attention, the flip-flop also reflects Trump’s inconsistent approach to key policies, which range from threatening and then backing off from widespread international tariffs to hesitating on federal spending cuts.
Last Thursday, Trump first blinked when he wrote on Truth Social that hotels and farmers were suffering as a result of his “very aggressive” raids. According to reports, Ice officials instructed employees in an internal email the following day to significantly reduce raids and arrests in the hotel, restaurant, and agricultural sectors.
However, the Post claims that after agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins had obtained the temporary reprieve due to pressure from the industry, immigration hawks led by deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller broke the pause.
By Sunday, Trump had publicly changed his mind completely and directed agents to carry out what he referred to as the “single largest Mass Deportation Program in History” through a Truth Social post. This program was specifically directed at America’s biggest cities, nearly all of which are controlled by Democrats.
The administration is frantically trying to reach Miller’s goal of 3,000 arrests per day through workplace raids. According to a recent DHS statement, the number of arrests per day has remained at roughly 2,000.
At meatpacking plants, a single operation can result in hundreds of detentions.
However, Trump’s momentary hesitancy betrayed his discomfort with the consequences for the economy. The American Immigration Council estimates that 40.6 percent of the US workforce is made up of undocumented immigrants, with over 7 million of them working in construction, hospitality, and agriculture.
The United Farm Workers (UFW), a labor organization that represents many immigrant workers, dismissed the temporary halt on workplace raids in California, arguing that it never really existed.
On Saturday, UFW wrote on Instagram, “Border Patrol and ICE are still hunting down farm workers as long as they are permitted to sweep through farm worker communities making chaotic arrests the way they did TODAY.”. “President Trump must demonstrate his authority if he truly holds it. “”.
