President Trump to issue executive order to protect farm workers

President Trump is taking a stand for farm workers who may be in the country illegally. He says he will be issuing an order soon aimed at keeping farm workers in the fields.

The President did not elaborate on what his order would entail, but it comes after several reports in California where ICE was taking illegal farm workers into custody. President Trump had previously suggested farm workers would be safe, but would need to return to their home countries first if they were here illegally. One California Representative welcomes the plan, saying farm workers are the backbone of the ag industry.

The message comes after immigration crackdowns elsewhere in the country. Earlier this week, ICE agents arrested 70 workers from a meatpacking plant in Omaha. The agency says this was the largest bust in Nebraska since the President’s crackdown began. Officials say that during the operation, several officers were assaulted by those being taken into custody.

Related Stories
The Trump Administration’s new rule limiting CDL renewals for immigrant truckers is seeing mixed reactions in agriculture. While some support the change, it is raising concerns about higher freight costs and impacts on U.S. grain export competitiveness.
The changing political climate in America is leading to a drop in migrant crossings near the U.S.-Mexico border, where ranchers like Dr. Mike Vickers say they witnessed horrors from death to child trafficking.
RFD NEWS correspondent Frank McCaffrey recently spoke with Dr. Mike Vickers, a South Texas rancher, who says illegal border crossings have dramatically declined in the last year.
Rural population growth and stabilizing economic indicators point to post-pandemic recovery, but uneven income, shifting industries, and regional divides remain key challenges for rural communities.
RFD NEWS Correspondent Frank McCaffrey speaks with Texas’s Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez about USMCA renegotiation and its impact on U.S.–Mexico agriculture trade.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) estimates that the move will save farmers and ranchers $2.5 billion each year. The group warns that new methods for calculating the adverse-effect wage rate would result in lower pay for foreign workers.

LATEST STORIES BY THIS AUTHOR:

Jack Hubbard, with the Center for the Environment and Welfare, shares context and perspective on the controversial letter about Prop 12 circulating in Washington and how a review shows it misled the public.
AFBF Economist Faith Parum discusses the financial challenges currently facing farmers and the Farm Bureau’s 2026 outlook for the farm economy.
From tariff talks in Europe to SCOTUS uncertainty and rising farm losses, analysts say policy and global supply will shape grain markets in the year ahead.
Ethanol and corn groups are not hiding their disappointment over new reports that the bill to allow year-round E15 sales failed as Congress forges ahead on government funding, with another shutdown looming.
While row crops are expected to see softer impacts, analysts say severe weather of this magnitude will not be as kind to cattle producers.
Cape Cod FarmHER Chloe Starr dives into the world of shellfish farming at one of the few oyster & clam hatcheries in the U.S.