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Know This Now, June 27, 2025: President Trump Suggests Legal Pathway for Essential Farm Workers: “I never want to hurt our farmers”

By June 27, 2025July 24th, 2025No Comments
Top News: President Trump Suggests Legal Pathway for Essential Farm Workers: “I never want to hurt our farmers”

President Trump reiterated his desire to find a path for farmers and other businesses to keep their trusted workers on June 20.

“We’re looking at doing something where in the case of good, reputable farmers, they can take responsibility for the people that they hire…because we can’t put the farms out of business, and at the same time, we don’t want to hurt people that aren’t criminals…I never want to hurt our farmers. Our farmers are great people.”
– President Trump
June 20, 2025

In early June, President Trump paused immigration raids on farms, restaurants and hotels after hearing feedback from employers concerned about their workers, but subsequent reports that DHS would resume agriculture and restaurant raids bred confusion among business owners.

Worksite enforcement operations will continue, border czar Tom Homan said on June 19, but on a prioritized basis. 
“We’re going to continue to do worksite enforcement operations, even on farms and hotels, but based on a prioritized basis. Criminals come first…For those who we have a criminal nexus of trafficking, of forced labor, of tax fraud, or tax evasion.”
-Tom Homan, Border Czar 
ABIC CEO Rebecca Shi was featured on Bloomberg News, CNN and Axios to respond to President Trump’s most recent comments. 

“This is a food security issue. We need the individuals that are doing the hard work, and like the President has said, have been here, many of them for 20-25, years to get legal status and work permits,” Shi told Bloomberg.

“Employers, farmers, ranchers, small-business owners are breathing a sigh of relief since the president’s remarks…Over the last several weeks, our farmers, ranchers have been under enormous stress. The ICE raids that are targeting our essential immigrant workers have led to some businesses closing,” Shi told CNN.

“We appreciate that President Trump is listening to farmers and recognizes the critical role immigrant workers play in feeding our nation,” said Shi in a statement quoted by Axios.  

More from the ABIC Network:

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News Briefing
Fed Chair Says Trump Immigration Policies Slowing Economic Growth
Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell said at a House Financial Services hearing the Trump administration’s deportation policies are one of the reasons U.S. economic growth has slowed.

“There are two things that affect growth. One is growth in the labor force, more people working, and the other thing is productivity, how much do they produce per hour of work,” Powell said.

“When you significantly slow the growth of the labor force, you will slow the growth of the economy.” -Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell 

Powell was responding to questions from Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL) about the economic impact of deportations. She noted that ICE arrests have affected key sectors including construction, hospitality and agriculture.
“We’re losing thousands and thousands of workers,” Salazar said. “You do agree that if we don’t have those hands, then we don’t grow?”


https://x.com/RepMariaSalazar/status/1937554141095620816

Powell replied, “I think that growth will slow and actually is slowing this year, and that’s one of the reasons.”

Senate Parliamentarian Strikes Immigration Enforcement Provisions from Budget Bill

The Senate parliamentarian rejected several provisions in the budget megabill, including language authorizing states to conduct border security and immigration enforcement, which traditionally have been duties of the federal government. The parliamentarian rejected this language, ruling it violates the Byrd Rule, which bars provisions that are considered “extraneous” to the federal budget.

Both the House and Senate have a parliamentarian to provide assistance on that chamber’s rules and they also provide information to lawmakers on a strictly nonpartisan and confidential basis.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Op-ed: In tug-of-war on immigration, business leaders should pull Trump to their side 

An editorial by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial Board called for business leaders and economic leaders to “step up and urge the president to focus on the most urgent [deportation] cases. That means wanted or convicted criminals and those with pending deportation orders.”

“The most effective imagery…for example, the Nebraska meatpacker that saw half its workforce removed by ICE, and much of the rest afraid to return to work after that. Tell Americans that there are illegal workers in the abstract and they support aggressive deportations. Tell them the cost of bacon and ground beef will rise — and more might have to be imported — and they’ll think better of focused efforts and compromise.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/us/politics/border-immigration-farms.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20250627&instance_id=157390&nl=breaking-news&regi_id=124034049&segment_id=200784&user_id=cef95d46d356b0f1f229e2502628a8f6


Restaurants Feeling Impact of ICE Enforcement Actions

Emily Williams Knight, CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association and ABIC member, said restaurants make up the largest overall private-sector employers in the state. Right now, restaurants aren’t opening in some areas of Texas because workers are staying home.

Knight said the impact is spreading across the Texas economy because there is reduced traffic in retail areas. “I can tell you across Texas we are feeling it.”


NY Times: Empty Farms and Frightened Workers on a Quiet Southern Border 

The administration’s shifting orders on whether to exempt farm workers from immigration sweeps have created chaos in agriculture, where at least 42% of workers are undocumented. Fear is especially high on farms along the southwestern U.S.-Mexico border.

“From our industry standpoint, the farm workers that may have document issues, they’ve worked with their growers for 10, 15 years. There is a good relationship there,” said Jed Murray, a director of government relations with the Texas International Produce Association

U.S. Immigration Drop May Stunt Job Growth

The flow of migrant workers into the U.S. has effectively halted over the past year. That trend, plus the steadily aging population of existing workers, could create a U.S. labor crunch.

Barclays estimates that potential job growth will continue to fall, slowing potential economic growth to only 1.4-1.6% year-on-year through next year from just over 2% now.



Study: With Border Now Secure, U.S. Needs to Boost Legal Immigration to Strengthen Economy

A new study from the right-leaning group Unleash Prosperity urges President Trump and Congress to pass laws expanding legal immigration, arguing it’s essential for long-term economic growth now that the border is secure. The report recommends increasing the annual immigration quota and expanding visa programs for high-skilled workers (H-1B), seasonal labor (H-2B), and investors (EB-5) to address U.S. demographic shifts and workforce needs.

Industry Spotlight: Nursing Homes at Risk From Trump’s Immigration Policies and Possible Medicaid Cuts

More than 800,000 immigrants and naturalized citizens comprise 28% of direct care employees at home care agencies, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other long-term care companies. Nursing homes are now subject to ICE raids, creating fear that could drastically reduce the number of current and future workers for the industry.

“People may be here on a green card, and they are afraid ICE is going to show up,” said Katie Smith Sloan, president of LeadingAge, an association of nonprofits that care for older adults.

“As an employer, we see [foreign-born employees] stay on with us, they have longer tenure, they are more committed to the organization,” –Rob Liebreich, Goodwin Living President and CEO.

Fights in the Courts
Supreme Court Limits Judges’ Ability to Block Birthright Citizenship Order Nationwide

The Supreme Court delivered a significant win to President Trump Friday by limiting the use of nationwide injunctions that had blocked his executive order aiming to end birthright citizenship. In a 6-3 decision, the Court ruled that federal judges generally cannot block policies nationwide unless a case is certified as a class action. This restricts judges to granting relief only to the plaintiffs in a specific case. The Supreme Court did not rule Friday on the underlying constitutionality of Trump’s executive order.

Supreme Court Allows Administration to Restart Swift Deportation of Immigrants to Countries Where They Have No Ties
A divided Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to resume fast-track deportations of migrants to third countries, not their home countries, without giving them a chance to challenge the removals.

Trump Administration Sues All of Maryland’s Federal Judges Over Deportation Order

The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against all 15 federal judges in Maryland, aiming to overturn an order blocking the immediate deportation of migrants challenging their removals. Legal experts called the move extraordinary.


Enforcement News

30 Detained at Manufacturing Plant in North Carolina
https://www.firehouse.com/community-risk/fire-protection-systems/video/55299584/ice-raids-kings-mountain-nc-fire-equipment-factory

Federal immigration officials say 30 people were arrested at Buckeye Fire Equipment in Kings Mountain, N.C. The operation focused on possible identity theft and employment-related crimes.

ICE Arrests 17 During Inspection at Pennsylvania Worksite
ICE detained 17 undocumented immigrants during a workplace inspection at an apartment complex in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The group—mostly Venezuelans—was restoring the building after a fire, working for a subcontractor.

More L.A. Car Washes Targeted In Immigration Raids
Immigration sweeps have targeted two dozen car washes in Los Angeles and Orange County this month, according to the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center. Some locations remain open, but others have shut down due to worker detentions or staff staying home out of fear.

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