In the latest twist and turn regarding the nation's agricultural workers, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in no uncertain terms Tuesday that "there will be no amnesty" for farm laborers who are in the US without documentation—a declaration President Trump himself later backed. "The mass deportations continue, but in a strategic way, and we move the workforce towards automation and 100% American participation," Rollins said during an event at the USDA headquarters, per Politico. During a weeklong period last month, Trump suggested the administration might give migrant farm and hotel workers some protections; the Department of Homeland Security paused immigration raids at farms, hotels, and restaurants; and then days later DHS reversed that directive.
Trump was later asked about Rollins' remarks, and he confirmed "there's no amnesty," the Hill reports. He indicated there would be some sort of "work program" ensuring farmers get "the people they need," but gave no further details. Rollins earlier appeared to point to Medicaid recipients who don't yet meet the new work requirements laid out in Trump's so-called "big beautiful bill" as a source of replacement labor. "With 34 million people, able-bodied adults on Medicaid, we should be able to [get to 100% American participation] fairly quickly," Rollins said. "There are plenty of workers in America." Conservative media personality Charlie Kirk warned earlier this week that the idea of providing amnesty to migrant farm laborers would "break our coalition" and lead to "a complete collapse of everything that we have worked for," RealClearPolitics reports.
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