Overview

• On August 5, President Trump told CNBC that U.S. agriculture cannot function without migrant workers, asserting inner-city residents would not perform farm labor.
• He described migrants as “naturally” suited for agricultural work while dismissing inner-city populations, a phrase historically tied to predominantly Black neighborhoods.
• Advocacy groups say his rhetoric echoes historical patterns of exploiting marginalized labor from slavery through modern discrimination.
• Civil rights organizations have formally condemned the language as a continuation of racially coded political discourse.
• The exchange has intensified debates over farming labor shortages and the broader framing of immigrant contributions.