WASHINGTON — President Trump earlier this month during an appearance in Iowa said he was going to put farmers in charge when it comes to deporting agricultural workers who are in the country illegally, shielding farmers from the effects of his crackdown on illegal immigration, but US Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins has said since then that Trump has no plans to give amnesty to farm workers.
North-central Iowa congresswoman Ashley Hinson says she’d like to see a better legal path established for migrant farm workers. “I think what’s most important is we work toward a solution that provides a legal immigration workforce visa, so this is a workforce visa, not an amnesty issue, and we need to make sure we have those legal pathways for people to come here to work in critical industries like agriculture.”
Hinson says wants to continue to work with Trump and Rollins on finding a solution to the issue. “I think you can couple dealing with the deportation side with illegal immigration, at the same time providing pathways for people to come here and work legally, and I look forward to working with them to make sure we’re finding the right balance there.”
The US Department of Homeland Security says about 42% of farm workers in the United States between 2020 and 2022 lacked legal status.
