Donald Trump hints he's willing to let migrant farm workers stay in US if employers vouch for them

DES MOINES, IOWA: President Donald Trump has said he's open to letting migrant laborers stay in the US — if their bosses vouch for them.

Speaking at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Thursday, July 3, Trump raised eyebrows as he spoke in favor of migrant workers in agriculture.

“We’re finding the criminals, the murderers, the drug dealers, we’re getting them the hell out of here,” Trump declared at the "America 250" kickoff event, launching the yearlong semiquincentennial celebration.

But he followed that up with a surprising pivot, saying he and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem are working on a more forgiving plan for undocumented workers in agriculture and hospitality.

“We’re going to sort of put the farmers in charge,” Trump said, looking over at Noem. “If a farmer’s willing to vouch for these people, in some way, Kristi, I think we’re going to have to just say that’s going to be good, right?”

“You know, we’re going to be good with it. Because we don’t want to do it where we take all of the workers off the farms. We want the farms to do great like they’re doing right now," the 79-year-old added.

Donald Trump orders crackdown, then softens the blow

Earlier this year, Donald Trump announced plans for a massive roundup and deportation of undocumented immigrants starting in January. Experts warned it would hit rural towns like a sledgehammer, wrecking local economies, stalling meat production, and slowing manufacturing.

Iowa, in particular, would take a beating. The state leads the US in pork and egg production and is a major player in beef, turkey, and milk. At the heart of that output is immigrant labor.

Even as US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ramped up raids and detentions — including on immigrants with no criminal record — Trump tried to soften the blow in a June 12 Truth Social post.

“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!” he wrote.

Not long after, the administration paused ICE raids on farms, hotels, restaurants, and meatpacking plants. But the raids were back on just a few days later.

On June 20, Trump was en route to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, when he told reporters he was hunting for a compromise.

“We’re looking at doing something where, in the case of good, reputable farmers, they can take responsibility for the people that they hire and let them have responsibility, because we can’t put the farms out of business,” he said. “And at the same time, we don’t want to hurt people that aren’t criminals.”

New data suggests arrests and deportations have nearly tripled in Iowa in 2025

While Donald Trump is talking about mercy, Iowa is reportedly seeing one of the harshest crackdowns in the country. New data suggests that arrests and deportations have nearly tripled in the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.

According to the Des Moines Register, ICE arrested 397 people from January to May 2025, compared to just 137 during the same period last year. Deportations surged to 280 in the same five months, a sharp jump from 96 in 2024.

It’s quite a shift in a state where 42% of farm workers between 2020 and 2022 lacked legal status, per the US Department of Homeland Security.

At the same time, Trump claimed his approach was helping American workers. He rattled off his own job stats in his Iowa speech.

“American-born workers gained 830,000 new jobs, a record, while ‘illegal aliens’ lost 340,000,” the MAGA leader boasted.

Donald Trump shows his softer side at Iowa rally

Despite the numbers, Donald Trump seemed eager to strike a compromise, especially when talking about the bond between farmers and their workers.

“We’re working with Kristi, and we’re going to do something that we’re going to sort of put the farmers in charge,” he declared.

Then came one of the more tender Trump moments.

“If a farmer’s been with one of these people that works so hard — they bend over all day. We don’t have too many people who can do that, but they work very hard and they know them very well. And some of the farmers are literally, you know, they cry when they see this happen," he said.

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