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Trump Proposes Temporary Pass to Shield Long-Serving Farm and Hotel Workers

The measure would let employers vouch for undocumented farm and hotel workers paying taxes without altering DHS’s priority on deporting criminal aliens.

Immigrant workers harvest crops during the weekend, as labor shortages risk leaving fields unpicked, in Oxnard, California, U.S., June 22, 2025. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares
On May Day farm workers march to a Hannaford supermarket to protest the supermarket chain's refusal to purchase milk from dairy suppliers who have committed to a set of fair labor practices, May 1, 2022, in Burlington, Vermont.
A Guatemalan immigrant works on a crop field at a farm in Kern County, California, U.S., June 19, 2025. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares

Overview

  • The pass would allow long-serving undocumented farm and hotel workers to remain legally in the U.S., work and pay taxes without a path to citizenship.
  • Under the plan, farmers and hoteliers would assume legal responsibility for their undocumented employees through an employer-controlled status system.
  • DHS has stressed that worksite enforcement remains a priority and that operations will target violent criminals, with no safe havens for industries that harbor them.
  • Trump’s announcement follows a brief pause and subsequent resumption of ICE raids at farms and hotels in response to agriculture and hospitality sector complaints.
  • Conservative commentators and some Republican lawmakers argue the selective carve-out undermines uniform rule-of-law and favors politically connected employers.