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Trump Administration Pauses ICE Raids on Farms and Hotels

Officials describe the move as a response to labor shortages in key industries with no clear timeline for resuming other worksite raids

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Farmworkers on a field in March near the US-Mexico border in Calexico, California. Undocumented workers make up an estimated 40% of farmworkers in the United States.
Farm workers work in fields south of Bakersfield in Kern County in April. Roughly half of the Central Valley's farm workforce is undocumented.

Overview

  • A senior ICE official emailed regional leaders to halt all worksite enforcement operations at agricultural sites, meatpacking plants, restaurants and operating hotels effective Thursday
  • The guidance allows investigations of trafficking or smuggling in those sectors but prohibits arrests of undocumented workers without criminal records
  • President Trump wrote on Truth Social that his immigration crackdown was removing long-term farm and hotel workers and pledged that enforcement changes are coming
  • Farm bureaus and hospitality unions report that recent raids have driven many immigrant employees to stay home, raising fears of disrupted food supply chains and hotel services
  • Administration spokespeople emphasize the pause is temporary and confirm there is no permanent exemption for farm or hospitality workers in current deportation policies