President Trump’s Ugly Characterization of Immigrant Agricultural Workers: A Telling Admission About the Economic and Political Costs of Mass Deportation

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Washington, DC — Yesterday, during a CNBC interview, President Trump offered his latest musings on the agricultural sector and the importance of farmworkers, again riffing on a supposed set of new administration policy approaches that would recognize the importance of immigrant farmworkers while adding his own openly stereotypical and racist flourish to the mix. During the CNBC interview yesterday, President Trump said:

“I take care of the farmers. I love the farmers. They’re a very important part of this country, and we’re not going to do anything to hurt the farmers, and we’re working on that, and we’re going to be coming out with rules and regulations. I mean, you’ll see a farmer with the same person working for him for 20 years. The person’s even paying taxes and other things … I want to work with them … We can’t let our farmers not have anybody. You know, these are very these people, they’re you can’t replace them very easily. You know, people that live in the inner city are not doing that work. They’re just not doing that work … These people do it naturally, naturally. I said, what happens if they get it to a farmer the other day, what happens if they get a bad back? He said, they don’t get a bad back, sir, because if they get a bad back, they die.”

According to Joanna Kuebler, America’s Voice Chief of Programs:

“President Trump’s ugly characterization of hard-working immigrants reveals his own dark prejudice and is a telling admission about the reality of immigrants’ contributions to America – one very different from the dangerous ‘invaders’ he and Stephen Miller often want us to picture. Our country relies on the skill and hard work of immigrants, who have always made America a better, strong nation. The real immigration reforms we need don’t look anything like the mass deportations in action or pretending that native born Americans are ready to fill the labor force. Meanwhile, President Trump’s open racial stereotyping is unfortunately just the latest example of a disturbing, deeply held belief that informs his larger vision of remaking the nation in MAGA’s image. Combined with the harm of mass deportation, such stereotyping is a big reason why Republican inroads with Latino voters seem likely to move in the opposite direction in the midterms.”

Below, find media coverage and reminders about the political and economic costs of mass deportation, including on the agricultural sector and why Republicans’ 2024 inroads with Latino voters are imperiled.

• The Washington Post editorial, “This frontal attack on farmers must end,” noting: “Livestock farmers, as well as growers of fruits and vegetables, have been alarmed as they watch agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement descend en masse across fields to detain and deport agricultural workers. Roughly half of crop farmworkers are estimated to lack legal immigration status. Produce growers report that up to 70 percent of their workforce will not show up in the days after an ICE raid, too scared to leave home. Smack in the middle of the harvest season for a range of crops, from berries and leafy greens to broccoli and cauliflower, farmers are worried they will miss the brief window, sometimes two to three days, for harvesting before crops go past their prime … Yet to be seen are the full economic consequences of going after America’s food producers. Prices do not yet reflect the most dire scenarios. They are starting to rise. But if the administration pursues a maximalist approach of its agenda, especially on priorities that come at the expense of farmers, it is likely to do some real damage to the food supply.”
• The Wall Street Journal op-ed by Blake Hurst, a Missouri farmer: “Can My Flower Farm Survive Without Immigrant Labor?” notes: “Our dedicated and talented local employees have all worked here for several years, and they are a wonderful help to our business. But there are too few of them to get the work done, and none are willing or able to put in seven days a week like our family does. Until now, we’ve filled our labor shortage with foreign workers, though not without challenges. Still, they show up every Sunday to keep the plants alive and load Monday morning’s deliveries. Our business can’t survive without them.”

• And the New York Times story, “G.O.P. Bets Big on Latino Voters With New Texas Map” includes the following quote from Ricardo Sandoval, “a trucking and warehousing businessman in Laredo” who voted for President Trump last November: “‘The Republican Party is going to lose a lot of votes around here,’ … Mr. Sandoval said he agreed with Mr. Trump’s campaign promises for tax cuts, tariffs on China and an immigration crackdown along the border. But now, he said, he feels he was misled. The roller coaster of on-again-off-again tariffs has depressed cross-border trade and upended his business, pushed prices up and forced him to lay off more than a dozen employees. Mr. Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement actions have been disrespectful to the thousands of Hispanics who supported him, Mr. Sandoval said. And he said the Republicans’ redistricting effort in Texas was an unethical way to try to hold onto power. ‘There’s a sense of betrayal,’ he said.”