President Donald Trump has proposed that undocumented immigrants employed in sectors such as agriculture and hospitality could self-deport and return legally, provided their employers vouched for them.
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Trump has vowed to carry out the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history to address illegal immigration and border security. However, the policy has sparked concerns about its potential effects on the economy.
Agricultural production could fall by $30 billion to $60 billion if Trump’s cornerstone policy is implemented, according to the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC). It is estimated that 4 million to 5 million undocumented immigrants work in U.S. agriculture, meaning millions of migrants could be allowed to return to the country under the new proposal.
On Thursday, Trump said at a Cabinet meeting, “We have to take care of our farmers, the hotels and, you know, the various places where they tend to, where they tend to need people.”
“So a farmer will come in with a letter concerning certain people, saying they’re great, they’re working hard. We’re going to slow it down a little bit for them, and then we’re going to ultimately bring them back. They’ll go out. They’re going to come back as legal workers,” he continued.
The meaning behind his remark to “slow it down a little bit for them” remained unclear. At the same time, the administration has intensified efforts to arrest, detain and deport undocumented immigrants, in line with Trump’s pledge to launch a historic mass deportation campaign.
About 40 percent of crop farmworkers in the U.S. are undocumented, according to the Department of Agriculture. In 2023, an estimated 1.1 million undocumented individuals were employed in the hospitality sector—including hotels and restaurants—making up about 7.6 percent of that workforce, an analysis by the American Immigration Council showed.
The American Immigration Council projects that the mass deportation policy could incur a one-time cost of $315 billion. Furthermore, deporting 1 million individuals each year could lead to annual expenses reaching up to $88 billion.
Business leaders have been raising the alarm over the president’s hard-line immigration agenda and its effects on the workforce.
In March, business owners and industry leaders gathered in Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress as part of ABIC’s “Secure the Workforce” campaign, which advocates for maintaining a steady flow of immigrant labor into the U.S. The coalition is backing legislation that would, among other provisions, grant work permits to immigrant workers.
A White House official told NBC News that Trump sought to enhance both the H-2A program—which allows agricultural employers to hire temporary and seasonal workers—and the H-2B program, which is used to bring in immigrant workers for temporary, seasonal roles in industries such as hospitality, entertainment and tourism.
The H-2B visa is a temporary, nonimmigrant program that allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers for seasonal or short-term nonagricultural jobs when qualified American workers are in short supply. It is commonly used in industries such as construction.
Rebecca Shi, the CEO of the American Business Immigration Coalition, said in a statement shared with Newsweek: “Now that President Trump successfully secured our borders, last month, ABIC led a ‘Secure America’s Workforce’ fly-in to Washington, D.C., where over 250 business leaders from 37 states attended more than 120 meetings with Republicans and Democrats and the Trump administration to call for commonsense immigration reform. On the heels of these meetings, we appreciate the administration’s acknowledgment of the vital role immigrant workers play in sustaining key industries like agriculture and hospitality. These workers are the backbone of our economy, ensuring our farms thrive and our businesses operate smoothly.”
President Donald Trump said on Thursday: “We’re going to work with them right from the beginning on, trying to get them back in legally. So it gives you real incentive. Otherwise they never come back. They’ll never be allowed once a certain period of time goes by, which is probably going to be 60 days.”
It remains to be seen whether the administration will work toward expanding the H-2B visa or open more legal pathways for farmers and hospitality workers to remain in the country legally.
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