U.S. President Donald Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins made it clear Tuesday that the administration will not grant amnesty to undocumented farmworkers.
Instead, they introduced a new plan that allows farmers to vouch for some workers while aiming to replace others with Americans on Medicaid.
“There’s no amnesty,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.
Highlights
- The Trump administration is rejecting amnesty for undocumented farmworkers but will allow farmers to vouch for some workers.
- A newly announced plan aims to replace undocumented farmworkers with able-bodied Americans on Medicaid.
- Agriculture Secretary Rollins promotes automation and welfare reform to achieve a fully American farm workforce.
- The administration is also aiming to restrict foreign ownership of U.S. farmland, targeting countries like China.
A new farm plan allows farmers to vouch for undocumented workers, but no amnesty will be given
Image credits: The White House/ Flickr
“What we’re doing is we’re getting rid of criminals, but we are doing a work program. We’ve got to give the farmers the people they need, but we’re not talking amnesty.”
According to Trump administration officials, the H-2A visa program, which allows U.S. employers to provide foreign nationals with a temporary agricultural job by filing a petition on their behalf, will also be streamlined.
Rollins supported the president’s message, saying that the administration aims for a fully American farm workforce and that automation and welfare reform will help make this goal possible.
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“The answer on this is automation, also some reform within the current governing structure, and then also, when you think about there are 34 million able-bodied adults in our Medicaid program,” she said at a press conference. “There are plenty of workers in America.”
Medicaid is a government-run program that offers health coverage to low-income individuals and families. The recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act requires childless, able-bodied adults aged 18 to 64 to work at least 80 hours a month to keep Medicaid benefits.
These work requirements also include options like school, job training, or community service.
However, health care advocates argue that many recipients already have jobs or are unable to work.
The plan aims to replace undocumented farmworkers with Americans on Medicaid
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Rollins suggested these people could be part of the solution to the farm labor shortage caused by immigration crackdowns.
In June, the Trump administration had considered pausing some immigration raids at farm sites, but ultimately decided to proceed with them.
Recent reports show the grim reality of America’s farming landscape, where crops across the country have been left to rot as migrant workers are either detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or are too fearful of arrest to show up for work.
To address farmers’ concerns, Trump offered a partial solution: allow farmers to vouch for undocumented workers who have been working on their land for years.
Image credits: Wikimedia
“What we’re going to do is we’re going to do something for farmers where we can let the farmer sort of be in charge,” Trump told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures host Maria Bartiromo. “The farmer knows he’s not going to hire a murderer.”
“If a farmer’s willing to vouch for these people, in some way, Kristi, I think we’re going to have to just say that’s going to be good, right?” he said during a rally in Iowa last week.
“We don’t want to do [border security] where we take all of the workers off the farms,” Trump added. “We want the farms to do great.”
Trump and Rollins have reiterated multiple times that this is not an amnesty move, but a strategic decision. It aims to reassure his MAGA base—who support widespread deportations—that it doesn’t grant special protections.
“The first thing I’ll say is, the president has been unequivocal that there will be no amnesty, and I think that’s very, very important,” Rollins said on Tuesday.
But the proposal has stirred debate among Trump’s supporters. Some conservative voices argue that any protection for undocumented workers is too much.
Right-wing activist Laura Loomer criticized Rollins, saying she’s not fully aligned with Trump’s ‘America First’ immigration goals.
Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk told “the elite class” who influence Trump, “If you want to break our coalition, go and push amnesty.”
Trump’s team says mass deportation will continue
Image credits: The White House/ Flickr
Despite these concerns, Trump’s team says the deportation plan will continue.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson stated that the administration’s top priority remains removing dangerous criminals.
“President Trump remains committed to carrying out the largest mass deportation operation in history by removing dangerous, violent criminal illegal aliens from American communities and targeting the sanctuary cities that provide safe harbor to criminal illegals,” she told The Daily Beast.
Rollins also announced another policy goal: stopping foreign governments from buying U.S. farmland.
She said she will now serve on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to help oversee land deals involving countries like China.
Image credits: Tom Williams/Getty Images
As of 2023, foreigners own 45 million acres of U.S. farmland, with China holding over 270,000 acres.
The Agriculture Department released a seven-point national security plan that restricts foreign ownership of U.S. farmland and promises to penalize false filings.
Twenty-six states currently restrict or ban non-Americans from buying or investing in agricultural land within their borders.
While the administration pushes for tighter controls, critics question the feasibility of its broader enforcement goals.
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Muzaffar Chishti, from the Migration Policy Institute, questioned how the government could deport 1 million people a year while also giving protections to farmworkers.
“He (Trump) wants to have 1 million people a year deported. They are doing everything they can to go off to the lowest hanging fruit—but even then, it’s proving difficult to get to a million a year,” he told The Daily Beast.