After a week of conflicting signals, the Trump administration has confirmed that immigration raids will continue in the agriculture and hospitality industries, reversing a brief pause.
Tom Homan, President Trump’s Border Czar, reaffirmed on Thursday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will proceed with worksite enforcement operations, though with a stated priority on individuals with criminal backgrounds.
The announcement puts an end to speculation that the administration was backing off its aggressive immigration enforcement in response to concerns about the economic impact on critical sectors.
READ: “We Triple Down”: Border Czar Tom Homan Vows No Retreat On ICE Worksite Enforcement
Last week, President Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that his “very aggressive” policies were affecting industries and making it “almost impossible to replace” long-time workers. This had led to an apparent halt in some planned ICE raids targeting farms, restaurants, and hotels.
“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. In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!” Trump wrote.
However, the Department of Homeland Security indicated a shift back towards enforcement earlier this week, a position solidified by Homan’s recent statements. Speaking to reporters Thursday, Homan stated, “We’re going to continue to do worksite enforcement operations, even on farms and hotels, but based on a prioritized basis. Criminals come first.”
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When pressed on how these raids would impact the U.S. economy and the concerns of farmers, Homan emphasized the importance of legal hiring practices.
“Well, first of all, there’s a right way and a wrong way to hire workers. There are legal programs that bring farm workers in,” he said. “Second of all, I’ve been saying for years, Congress needs to address this. But because Congress failed, it just doesn’t mean we ignore it. It’s illegal to knowingly hire an illegal alien.”
Homan reiterated this stance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” earlier this week, stressing that worksite enforcement remains a “tenet” of ICE’s mission under President Trump, even as the administration prioritizes public safety and national security threats.
He clarified that many targeted worksite operations would focus on criminal investigations involving “forced labor trafficking, sex trafficking and criminal investigations. Where they’re not paying taxes, there’s tax evasion or they’re funding cartel activity.”
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Despite public backlash and reports of doxxing incidents against agents, Homan maintained that morale within ICE remains high.
“Agents are used to being attacked. Yeah, they’re getting doxed. I’m getting doxed. My family gets doxed,” he stated. “When you attack an ICE officer, you’re attacking 20,000 of them because the camaraderie in ICE is tight. So when they double down, we triple down.”
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