The Trump Administration Scales Back Immigration Raids in Key Industries Amid Backlash
The Trump administration has made a sudden shift in its immigration enforcement strategy, instructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to pause workplace raids and arrests in industries such as agriculture, hospitality, and food services. This move, revealed through an internal email and confirmed by multiple U.S. officials, marks a significant change in the administration’s aggressive deportation campaign.
The decision appears to reflect growing concern that the sweeping crackdown on undocumented immigrants is negatively impacting industries that rely heavily on immigrant labor—industries that are politically and economically important to President Trump. The change in policy comes in the wake of protests in Los Angeles and other cities, where raids at farms and businesses have sparked public outcry.
In a rare acknowledgment, President Trump admitted this week that the enforcement actions were hurting American farmers and hospitality businesses. “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,” he wrote on social media.
The internal directive was sent Thursday by Tatum King, a senior ICE official, to regional leaders within Homeland Security Investigations—the division responsible for worksite enforcement. The email instructed agents to halt all enforcement operations at agricultural sites (including aquaculture and meatpacking plants), restaurants, and operating hotels.
However, the guidance makes exceptions for investigations involving serious crimes such as human trafficking, money laundering, and drug smuggling. Importantly, it also directs agents not to arrest “noncriminal collaterals”—undocumented individuals who are not accused of any crimes.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the new directive. “We will follow the president’s direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America’s streets,” said DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin.
Since taking office, President Trump has made mass deportations a central promise of his administration. Initially, the focus was on undocumented immigrants with criminal records, but in recent months, enforcement expanded to include broader workplace raids. These actions have led to arrests at restaurants, factories, and other businesses across the country.
Thursday’s shift comes as Trump faces pressure from within his own administration and party. According to a former official, Republican lawmakers from rural states have long warned that the crackdown could damage the agricultural sector, which depends heavily on immigrant labor. Trump, who owns luxury hotels, is also personally tied to the hospitality industry, which employs many immigrants.
The new guidance does not extend to all industries. For example, it does not prohibit raids in sectors like garment manufacturing, where a recent raid in Los Angeles triggered protests.
Meanwhile, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has continued to push for aggressive enforcement, publicly calling for at least 3,000 arrests per day. Following his comments, ICE arrests surged to over 2,000 daily last week.
One Homeland Security official said the new directive caught agents off guard, especially amid mounting pressure to increase arrest numbers. “We acknowledge that by taking this off the table, that we are eliminating a significant number of potential targets,” King wrote in his email.
The long-term impact of this policy shift remains unclear, but it signals a potential recalibration of the administration’s immigration strategy as it navigates the political and economic fallout of its enforcement actions.
Source: nytimes.com