As mass deportation efforts affected one labor force for farms, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer promised to cut red tape so they could access another: workers on temporary visas. It hasn’t gone according to plan.
Trump said he was going after the “worst of the worst,” but many of the people his administration is detaining and deporting have no criminal record. Agricultural employers are scrambling to find reliable replacements.
The administration’s push to deport millions, along with the rollback of multiple immigration policies, has created labor shortages and fear from warehouses to meatpacking plants.
Trump has cast the H-2A program as a quick help for farmers. At the same time, the program has been suspended during the government shutdown, which could cause production problems.
With President Trump’s end of a program that once safeguarded whistleblowers and a focus on deportation, advocates warn the nation’s food supply chain is at risk.
Investigate Midwest will host its first live virtual panel on Sept. 18, bringing together leading voices in policy, labor, and immigrant advocacy to examine one of the most pressing questions
