Trump says changes are coming to ICE raid policy: 'We must protect our farmers

[Absentglare]

It's a little difficult to believe that this is just now dawning on these people.

Sanctuary Farms.

 

[Ahlevah]

TACO is Taco'ing again!!!

\And now he's back tracking AGAIN!

So now he's not going after farm workers??? What's the matter, Taco?

Trump says changes are coming to ICE raid policy: 'We must protect our farmers'

President Donald Trump is reversing course on his immigration raid policy when it comes to farm workers, he announced on Truth Social on Thursday.

abc7.com

FRESNO, Calif. -- President Donald Trump is reversing course on his immigration raid policy when it comes to farm workers, he announced on Truth Social.

"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. "...We must protect our farmers, but get criminals out of the U.S.A. Changes are coming!"

According to the U.S. Agriculture Department, 42% of crop farmworkers from 2020 to 2022 lacked legal status.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the change is happening because Californians spoke up. "Keep it going. Keep it peaceful. It's working," he wrote on X.

In a post on social media, Newsom shared a story about a 12-year-old boy he met in Oxnard, California whose parents had been taken by agents. They had been working the fields for over 20 years.

"Donald Trump may not care about him, but he's finally listening to you calling out these indiscriminate acts of cruelty," Newsom said. "Let's keep up the pressure, and let's do it peacefully."

The farm lobby must have sent in a Trump golf buddy.

 

[uptower]

What will he say if (when?) some of those ‘good people’ are convicted of ‘serious’ crimes?

Who knows with this guy?

 

[Ahlevah]

Why not support the unionization of farm workers and hotel and leisure workers, raising the minimum wage and enforcing pesticide and worker safety regulations so that citizens and legal immigrants will take those jobs from illegals?

If you listen carefully, you can hear republicans gagging at my suggestion.

American farms compete with foreign farms. They need to be competitive. The best way to do that is by increasing productivity and reducing the cost of labor through automation. And we can reduce the use of pesticides by growing fruits and vegetables hydroponically indoors. It also removes climate change as an obstacle.

 

[Nickyjo]

American farms compete with foreign farms. They need to be competitive. The best way to do that is by increasing productivity and reducing the cost of labor through automation.

Indeed automation may come and benefit us with lower prices. But US firms of all kinds compete with foreign ones.

 

[bythoughts]

I think this always has to be looked at through the lens of insider trading. Trump's people are out in meetings with big well-moneyed players. Sometimes the price of a company is going to rise, and sometimes it's going to fall. A consistent policy, all tightening and all loosening, can only make the stock price go so far. But by alternating between one extreme and the other, the prices can be kept fluctuating, and the person who knows when to buy and when to sell can make a potentially unlimited amount of money from the suckers in the market who only read the news.

 

[CaughtInThe]

 

[Ahlevah]

Indeed automation may come and benefit us with lower prices. But US firms of all kinds compete with foreign ones.

True. So they need to innovate and reduce their input costs, including labor. We can’t compete in labor costs with developing nations, but we have access to capital, can innovate, and make machines that are more efficient than humans, especially when it comes to low-tech “grunt” work. Most farm workers will be obsoleted at some point. Farmers whose farms don’t have scalability or who don’t make the requisite capital investments will probably need to retire or find a new line of work.

 

[TheDoctorWasIn]

The major downside to that idea (concept of a plan?), is that “actual CRIMINALS” typically become so only after they have been convicted of creating actual VICTIMS. How many more actual VICTIMS of illegal aliens are acceptable to you?

The "logic" of this statement is no different than arguing that because wife-beaters are only identified after they victimize their wives, all men should be locked up just in case.

After all, how many female victims of domestic violence are acceptable to you?

 

[j brown's body]

I think this always has to be looked at through the lens of insider trading. Trump's people are out in meetings with big well-moneyed players. Sometimes the price of a company is going to rise, and sometimes it's going to fall. A consistent policy, all tightening and all loosening, can only make the stock price go so far. But by alternating between one extreme and the other, the prices can be kept fluctuating, and the person who knows when to buy and when to sell can make a potentially unlimited amount of money from the suckers in the market who only read the news.

Yeah, he just likes saying shit all the time for the endless attention.

 

[Ahlevah]

Raising the minimum wage isn’t going to make American farms more competitive with foreign farms. Automation will. There will be good-paying jobs to manage these farms and the robots used to operate them.

 

[CaughtInThe]

Raising the minimum wage isn’t going to make American farms more competitive with foreign farms. Automation will. There will be good-paying jobs to manage these farms and the robots used to operate them.

Great plan. Cut out all the jobs to make the economy better.

I swear, the right in this country cannot look more than two weeks into the future.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Who knows with this guy?

Biden let them in and I let them stay here.

That (bolded above) won’t be easy for folks to ignore.

 

[Felis Leo]

TACO is Taco'ing again!!!

\And now he's back tracking AGAIN!

So now he's not going after farm workers??? What's the matter, Taco?

Trump says changes are coming to ICE raid policy: 'We must protect our farmers'

President Donald Trump is reversing course on his immigration raid policy when it comes to farm workers, he announced on Truth Social on Thursday.

abc7.com

FRESNO, Calif. -- President Donald Trump is reversing course on his immigration raid policy when it comes to farm workers, he announced on Truth Social.

"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. "...We must protect our farmers, but get criminals out of the U.S.A. Changes are coming!"

According to the U.S. Agriculture Department, 42% of crop farmworkers from 2020 to 2022 lacked legal status.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the change is happening because Californians spoke up. "Keep it going. Keep it peaceful. It's working," he wrote on X.

In a post on social media, Newsom shared a story about a 12-year-old boy he met in Oxnard, California whose parents had been taken by agents. They had been working the fields for over 20 years.

"Donald Trump may not care about him, but he's finally listening to you calling out these indiscriminate acts of cruelty," Newsom said. "Let's keep up the pressure, and let's do it peacefully."

Thank goodness.

A lot of these Mexican/Central American farm laborers are far better people who contribute more to our country than many (if not most) fellow citizens. If I could grant them blanket citizenship, I would.

 

[ttwtt78640]

The "logic" of this statement is no different than arguing that because wife-beaters are only identified after they victimize their wives, all men should be locked up just in case.

Nope, unless those “wife-beaters” were foreign nationals in the US illegally.

After all, how many female victims of domestic violence are acceptable to you?

None.

 

[Ahlevah]

Great plan. Cut out all the jobs to make the economy better.

According to your link, white folks don’t want those jobs unless they’re paid more. But if they’re paid more they won’t be able to compete with foreign producers because they pay their workers peanuts—unless we tack on tariffs. Do you support Trump’s tariffs? I’m guessing no.

I swear, the right in this country cannot look more than two weeks into the future.

Wrong. American crop pickers are going the way of the Dodo. It’s simple economics. Machines can do most of these jobs faster and cheaper. But there will be better, higher-paying jobs in agriculture as productivity is increased.

 

[CaughtInThe]

According to your link, white folks don’t want those jobs unless they’re paid more. But if they’re paid more they won’t be able to compete with foreign producers because they pay their workers peanuts—unless we tack on tariffs. Do you support Trump’s tariffs? I’m guessing no.



Wrong. American crop pickers are going the way of the Dodo. It’s simple economics. Machines can do most of these jobs faster and cheaper. But there will be better, higher-paying jobs in agriculture as productivity is increased.

We need to automate out your job and all the jobs of your family members and people in your community.

That'll fix the economy.

/s

 

[anatta]

Can U.S. Farm Workers Be Replaced by Machines?

This report explains the options to replace U.S. farm workers with machines, H-2A guestworkers, and imports.

cis.org

Mechanizing the tasks done by hand workers in fresh fruits and vegetables is hard because much of the work is outdoors and in unpredictable settings. There are two general rules about harvest mechanization: Once-over is easier than selective harvesting, and crops that are processed are easier to mechanize than those that are sold fresh (Vougioukas, 2019).

Once-over harvesting is easiest for machines. Most vegetables are annual plants, so the machine can cut the plant and use shakers and sorters to isolate the desired vegetables. Root vegetables such as potatoes are harvested by machines that pass through the field one time and dig the crop from the soil, remove the dirt, and convey the harvested crop to a truck or wagon. Machines harvest fruit from trees and vines in several ways. Catch-and-shake machines use rubber-coated heads that grasp the trunk or limb and deliver a jolt to dislodge the fruit into a catching frame before it is conveyed to trucks or bins, as with oranges and peaches. Wine grapes and blueberries are harvested by machines that pass over the row and use rotating fingers to dislodge the fruit onto conveyor belts.

Selective harvesting requires machines to distinguish ripe and unripe fruit and vegetables and select only those that are ripe. Humans are much better than machines at locating an apple, determining its maturity, and harvesting it without damaging the picked apple and nearby immature apples. Machines to selectively harvest apples are in development, but they require farmers to replant orchards to make the apples more visible. To be competitive, the machines have to pick faster than humans.

The second rule is that it is easier to mechanize commodities destined for processing than those sold fresh to consumers. Processors are less concerned about blemishes and other damage that may occur in machine picking, which explains why most vegetables that are canned or frozen, such as beans, corn, and peas, are harvested by machine. However, preferences for fresh rather than processed fruits and vegetables has slowed harvest mechanization.

 

[TheDoctorWasIn]

Nope, unless those “wife-beaters” were foreign nationals in the US illegally.

"Foreign nationals in the US illegally" are much less likely to "victimize" Americans than white Christian American men are likely to victimize their wives.

The logic is the same, you're just trying to cloud it with your hatred of "illegals" - for people who don't share that hatred, your argument is gibberish.

 

[ttwtt78640]

"Foreign nationals in the US illegally" are much less likely to "victimize" Americans than white Christian American men are likely to victimize their wives.

The logic is the same, you're just trying to cloud it with your hatred of "illegals" - for people who don't share that hatred, your argument is gibberish.

Nope, the logic is that illegal aliens are subject to deportation before they commit some other criminal act.

 

[CimpleMan]

Perfect time for immigration reform. Should be front and center for Democratic Party. Next year will make 40 years without major reforms.

 

[anatta]

Yeah, this is the only industry migrant workers need protection. You go with that stupidity.

oh they are in meatpacking and construction, and roofing and hospitality. But none of those occupations are supply chain critical like crops

 

[bythoughts]

I don't understand. The US has a H2A visa program for migrant workers. Why does Trump of all people speak of tolerance for illegals in these positions rather than adjusting the H2A program to allow enough legal migrants to be in the country?

 

[maxparrish]

oh they are in meatpacking and construction, and roofing and hospitality. But none of those occupations are supply chain critical like crops

I just read that Trump added the "hotel" industry, meaning hospitalities.

Another Trump "impulse" unraveling in real time. Mind you, I support deporting most illegals BUT clearly, he does not know what he is doing. Typical Trump.

 

[ttwtt78640]

I don't understand. The US has a H2A visa program for migrant workers. Why does Trump of all people speak of tolerance for illegals in these positions rather than adjusting the H2A program to allow enough legal migrants to be in the country?

The following is from Google AI:

Cost to employer of H2A visa

The H-2A visa program, designed for temporary agricultural workers, involves various costs for employers. These can include:

1. Labor Certification:

• Application fee: $100.
• Per-worker fee: $10 per certified H-2A worker, up to a maximum of $1,000.
• Surety bond: Required for H-2A labor contractors (H-2ALCs) with amounts varying based on the number of certified workers: $5,000 for fewer than 25 workers, up to $75,000 for 100 or more workers.

2. Non-Immigrant Worker Petition (Form I-129):

• Filing fee: Normal fee is $1090, but smaller employers and nonprofits pay $545. The fee varies based on if the workers are named or unnamed beneficiaries, and whether the employer is a small employer or nonprofit.

3. H-2A Visa Application:

• Consulate fee: $205 per worker, which must be reimbursed by the employer in the worker's first paycheck.
• Border stamp fee: $6 per worker.
• Agent fees: May be around $100 per worker.

4. Transportation:

• Inbound transportation: Employers are responsible for providing or paying for transportation and meals to the worksite, or reimbursing workers for reasonable costs once 50% of the contract is completed. This can range from $400 to $650 per worker, depending on the country of origin.
• Daily transportation: Employers must provide free daily transportation between housing and worksites.
• Return transportation: Employers must pay for or provide return transportation and meals to the worker's home country after the contract is completed.
• Transportation to grocery store: Workers living in employer-provided housing must have access to transportation to a grocery store each week.

5. Housing:

• Housing costs: Employers must provide housing at no cost to H-2A workers and to corresponding U.S. workers who cannot reasonably return home daily. Estimated housing costs can range from $9,000 to $13,000 per worker.
• Meals or cooking facilities: Employers must provide either 3 meals a day or a place to cook with free and easy access for workers.

6. Miscellaneous Costs:

• Association fees: If applicable, around $200.
• Workers' compensation: Employers must provide workers' compensation at no cost.

Important Notes:

• Wage requirements: Employers must pay the highest applicable wage rate, which is typically the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR). The AEWR varies by state and type of work.
• Reimbursement: Employers can deduct certain expenses, like transportation and daily subsistence, from wages, but these must be reimbursed once 50% of the contract is completed.
• Illegal fees: Be wary of recruiters or agents who ask for large upfront payments or guarantee visa approval, as this could indicate fraud.

This information provides an overview of the costs associated with the H-2A visa program for employers. Specific costs may vary depending on the individual circumstances of the employer and the workers.