Restaurants, hotels and farms beg Trump to exempt their businesses from immigration raids after screeching policy U-turn

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Independent

Thursday 19 June 2025 13:01 EDT


Many restaurants, hotels, and farms traditionally rely heavily on immigrant workers and are begging the Trump administration to spare them from raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. There has been mounting confusion across many sectors after an apparent flip-flop on whom immigration raids would target, as hardline members of the administration push to ramp up deportations while President Donald Trump seeks to mollify concerns from businesses.

Farmers and those in the hospitality sector breathed a sigh of relief last week when the president appeared to order a pause to immigration raids that were disrupting those industries and scaring foreign-born workers off the job. He said on Truth Social that he would focus the immigration crackdown on criminals — as he also promised during the 2024 campaign — admitting that a more aggressive policy on immigration was taking away jobs that are “almost impossible to replace.”

Indeed, officials from the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to The Los Angeles Times on Saturday that the focus would be on people who have committed violent crimes, and not hardworking people in hotels and on farms. “There was finally a sense of calm,’’ said Rebecca Shi, CEO of the American Business Immigration Coalition. The respite didn’t last long. On Wednesday, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin declared in an interview: “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.’’ Shi says now, “There's fear and worry once more.” Border czar Tom Homan further enforced the message outside the White House on Thursday: “We're going to continue to do worksite enforcement operations, even on farms and hotels, but based on a prioritized basis. Criminals come first.”

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-ice-raids-farms-hotels-b2773327.html