Trump Spares Farms, Hotels in Immigration Shift

Business pressure forces softer stance

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President Trump said that he is prepared to exempt the agriculture and hotel sectors from his sweeping immigration crackdown. The unexpected shift came after business leaders warned him that raids were costing them dependable immigrant workers who are difficult to replace.

“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,” Trump wrote on Thursday.

He added, “In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”

The Agriculture Department estimates that more than 40% of the nation’s crop workers lack legal status. Recent raids have begun to disrupt farm operations, raising concerns among some Republican lawmakers.