Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will continue to conduct inspections of ag operations and other workplaces, including construction sites, but will focus on criminal activity, White House border czar Tom Homan announced. After days of confusion over whether President Donald Trump had carved out an exception for farms and hospitality operations including hotels and restaurants, Homan told reporters, “The message is clear enough that we're going to continue doing worksite enforcement operations even on farms and hotels.” The ag industry has voiced concern about worksite raids at farm operations and construction sites. Part of that concern derives from ICE arresting workers beyond those for whom they have warrants.
President Trump campaigned on the promise of an aggressive, wide-ranging crackdown on illegal immigration throughout the country and a mass deportation program that would expel record numbers of undocumented immigrants. After a slow start, the Administration has instituted an aggressive enforcement initiative to increase deportation numbers. The issue is now caught between different factions within the administration that appear to disagree on a politically fraught subject — whether to effectively exempt farms, hotels, construction sites and restaurants from the administration’s supposed zero-tolerance enforcement agenda. It’s a debate that is not likely to go away anytime soon — particularly given the administration’s insistence on keeping immigration enforcement at the forefront of its domestic agenda.
Border Czar Homan, however, when asked about guidance that went to regional offices apparently telling agents to hold off at ag and hospitality sites, said, “It's a matter of proper messaging.” Worksite enforcement would continue “but based on a prioritized basis. Criminals come first,” he said. Homan added, “There’s a right way and a wrong way to hire workers. There are legal programs that bring farm workers in.”