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Donald Trump and His Billionaire Allies Undermine Our Government and Wreck Our Economy” farmers are sounding the alarm

The U.S. food system heavily relies on low-wage immigrant labor, from farm to table. In fields across California, where strawberries are harvested, and Florida’s orchards, where oranges are picked, at least 70% of agricultural workers were born outside the country. In meatpacking plants, nearly half of those involved in slaughtering, butchering, and packaging beef, pork, and poultry are immigrants. Additionally, over a quarter of truck drivers responsible for transporting livestock to slaughterhouses and delivering meat to stores are also foreign-born.

While a significant number of U.S. farmworkers are undocumented — with approximately 40 percent falling into this category — research indicates that the majority of these workers are legal immigrants. For example, in 2020, the number of immigrants holding Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a program that allows individuals from countries experiencing unsafe conditions to live and work legally in the U.S., was over 406,000. Of that total, more than 76,000, or nearly 19 percent, were employed within the food industry, highlighting the sector’s dependence on immigrant labor.

However, the Trump administration made it clear that it intended to tighten immigration policies, targeting both undocumented and documented immigrants. Tom Homan, who served as Trump’s “border czar,” suggested the creation of a “hotline” that would allow residents to report undocumented individuals. Furthermore, the administration actively sought to eliminate the TPS program, which would strip protections from immigrants who had been granted temporary status due to unsafe conditions in their home countries. There were also discussions about potentially revoking the citizenship of naturalized individuals, further complicating the legal status of immigrants in the country. As a result, the immigrant workforce in the food industry, which is vital to its functioning, became a target of the administration’s immigration crackdown.

If the Trump administration were to implement its most aggressive deportation strategies, the question arises: who would replace these essential workers? High-ranking officials within the Trump administration, including Stephen Miller, the deputy chief of staff for policy, argued that the jobs filled by deported workers would be taken over by U.S. citizens. Miller claimed in an interview with The New York Times that these roles would be filled by Americans who would be offered better wages and benefits to entice them into these positions. Vice President JD Vance made similar statements, echoing the belief that the job market would adjust to accommodate U.S. workers stepping into these roles.

In reality, however, the likelihood of this scenario unfolding as envisioned is quite low. The food industry relies heavily on immigrant labor, especially in roles that require long hours, physical labor, and low pay. It is unclear whether U.S. citizens would be willing to take on these demanding positions, even with the promise of higher wages and better benefits. Moreover, labor shortages in the industry could lead to even greater challenges in meeting the country’s food production needs. Consequently, the administration’s vision of Americans filling these jobs may not be as realistic as they suggest, and it is more probable that such a drastic shift would result in significant disruption to the industry and could cause spike in food prices and scarcity.

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