U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins declared on Tuesday that undocumented farmworkers will face no amnesty even though agricultural organizations fear mass deportations will cause major disruptions to food production in the United States.
The Trump administration seeks a complete workforce of American citizens according to Rollins who proposed moving able-bodied adults receiving public assistance including Medicaid recipients into agricultural work. She declared at a USDA press conference that America has sufficient workers available for employment.
The administration plans to establish restrictions that prevent foreign adversaries including China from acquiring U.S. farmland. The White House is currently considering an executive order to retrieve land ownership from entities like Syngenta and Smithfield Foods. The state of Arkansas enforced a law that required Syngenta to sell 160 acres of its land.
The ownership of U.S. farmland by foreign entities stands at 3.4% with Canadian investors holding the majority but 26 states have implemented ownership restrictions which face ongoing legal battles.
Farm organizations predict that extensive immigration enforcement actions will lead to a complete destruction of the agricultural workforce during harvest season. The administration conducted a short-lived suspension of farm work site enforcement raids in June before deciding to resume the practice. The growing immigration enforcement activities have created escalating conflicts between food producers and federal authorities.
