The Trump administration has allegedly directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to pause immigration-related arrests and deportations in multiple sectors with high concentrations of immigrant workers, including the agricultural, hotel, and restaurant industries.
Last week, President Donald Trump posted on the social media network, Truth Social, that, “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, longtime workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace. … Changes are coming!”
Then on Friday, The New York Times reported that the new guidance to hold off on immigration enforcement in the agricultural and hospitality industries was circulated on Thursday by senior ICE official, Tatum King, to regional ICE leaders.
“Effective today, please hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants, and operating hotels,” the message stated, adding that investigations into human trafficking, drug smuggling, and other similar federal crimes could still be investigated.
This marks a shift away from the broad, comprehensive immigration approach Trump has advocated during his second term, including his declaration of a National Emergency at the Southern border.
The U.S. Center for Migration Studies estimates approximately one million undocumented immigrants work in the restaurant industry, making it one of the sectors likely to experience significant workforce gaps if large-scale deportations occur.
“Because restaurants are an essential component of our food supply and our economy, we are ready to partner with the Trump White House to ensure these orders include restaurants and our food production supply chain,” The Texas Restaurant Association said in a statement. “Importantly, this plan would help address the ongoing labor shortage by allowing only vetted immigrants — those who pass a background check and pay taxes — to work in critical industries that need additional staffing to keep prices down and provide excellent service for all Americans.”
Following these initial orders, the president appeared to shift toward a stricter immigration stance with a Truth Social post on Sunday stating that ICE will be directed to intensify immigration enforcement in Democrat-led cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to request for comment in time for publication.
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