Agricultural work is not like other work. You can see its exceptions on the tax forms, and you can reasonably grasp its differences from other jobs, and certainly welfare, if you think about it.
President Trump, who yields to no man in immigration enforcement to restore the rule of law, does see the obvious issue though, for agriculture.
According to Fox News:
The Trump administration is working on a way to allow farmers and the hospitality industry to have a "temporary pass" to avoid a negative impact from Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, he said on "Sunday Morning Futures."
"I don’t back away. What I do have, I cherish our farmers," the president said when asked by host Maria Bartiromo about the issue. "And when we go into a farm and we take away people that have been working there for 15 and 20 years, who were good, who possibly came in incorrectly. And 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. The farmer knows he’s not going to hire a murderer."
"But you know, when you go into a farm and you set somebody working with them for nine years doing this kind of work, which is hard work to do and a lot of people aren’t going to do it, and you end up destroying a farmer because you took all the people away," he said.
It was a great decision on his part, to show mercy to farmers, whose crops would be rotting in the fields in short order if every farm worker had to be in pristine immigration status. Crops need to be harvested immediately or there are no crops. Like food shortages? No farmers, no food.
Yes, illegal immigration is bad. Yes, Cesar Chavez hated it. Yes, Joe Biden let millions of unvetted foreigners in to wheel in Democrat voters.
But illegal immigration has been a way of life in agriculture for decades. Farm workers move north and south with the seasons, so border crossing as the Earth tilts is pretty natural.
But these guys aren't coming for the benefit packages the way the modern wave of migrants did. They are coming to do necessary, valuable, work in the toughest of conditions that not many other people want to do.
Fact is, farm work is hard as hell, as a brilliant series of United Farm Workers factual, informational, tweets (which contain no editorial rants) quietly, persistently, show us:
"Raul" shares: we are connecting 1,800 pipes in the lettuce fields. This is very hard work. It must must be done as a team. One person drives the tractor and the other two people will be lowering the pipes and connecting them. We worked 10 hrs this day. #WeFeedYou pic.twitter.com/GrggVf8Mjl
— United Farm Workers (@UFWupdates) July 1, 2025
Last week, Western NY was hit with a heatwave. It didn't stop the farm workers who were outside planting vegetables. Some workers are lucky and shade was provided, but many workers could be seen working out in the open in the blistering heat with no shade in sight. #WeFeedYou pic.twitter.com/j9FKTudnZM
— United Farm Workers (@UFWupdates) June 30, 2025
It's peak season in WA State cherries. Workers are paid piece rate and earn $4.50 per 22lb bucket. (The same as they earned in 2022). If they work super fast they can harvest 50 to 60 buckets in a 9 hour day during this very short peak season. #WeFeedYou pic.twitter.com/B0mwZsk5XM
— United Farm Workers (@UFWupdates) June 28, 2025
"Mario" a CA Central Valley sweet potato worker shared this pic with us. Workers put together this temporary structure to store the potatoes they harvest. It allows the product to completely dry out before forklift drivers load them up to send to supermarkets. #WeFeedYou pic.twitter.com/Nit8EcOimH
— United Farm Workers (@UFWupdates) June 28, 2025
Farmworkers spread out 13–16 per side and spend the entire day hunched over, picking tomatoes as fast as they can. If they’re on the far end, they run across the field to reach the trailer. The dumper checks each 25lb bucket is full. Then the puncher gives them credit. #WeFeedYou pic.twitter.com/qJejmPzmMU
— United Farm Workers (@UFWupdates) June 27, 2025
"Julia's" deleafing grapevines in CAs San Joaquin Valley earning 50 cents per vine. She wears a mask as the grape leaves contain dust and other small particles that irritate her throat & lungs. Her eyes are exposed and are often irritated by the end of the day. #WeFeedYou pic.twitter.com/DSMOpQjNY1
— United Farm Workers (@UFWupdates) June 27, 2025
It makes sense to give farm workers a break from enforcement, given that the workers are doing something constructive, have been here a long time, know their farmers, and are taking work away from no one. Nobody comes here illegally now because they want to do farm work; some do so because they always have done so.
Shipping these workers back is massively destructive to the farm industry, which is America's glory, as the world's most productive farms.
Trump was right to make this call, and his idea to deputize farmers to get these workers into some kind of pause from enforcement, and hopefully, a guest-worker legal status, so they can come and go from Mexico or Central America with dignity, was the common sense thing to do.
It was very like Trump that he chose this wise course of action. Trump is no ideologue, even on immigration. The only thing he's an ideologue on is making America strong, healthy, and great. His move here on agricultural (and hospitality) migrants was all about those three very things, because it's clear that strong local healthy agriculture only benefits America.
Thank you, President Trump.
Image: Screen shot from shareable United Farm Workers video on X.