‘No safe spaces’: DHS says illegal migrants working on farms, hotels still fair game for deportation

The Trump administration confirmed on Monday that immigration raids at key worksite areas are still on the table, reversing course from an earlier statement from the president.

Earlier in June, President Donald Trump declared that his nationwide crackdown on illegal migration was becoming too burdensome on the agriculture and hospitality industries, suggesting that he would begin taking it easy on those job sectors. However, the administration is now making clear that businesses unlawfully employing illegal migrants remain fair game for deportation officers.

“The President has been incredibly clear. There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE’s efforts,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security, and economic stability,” McLaughlin continued. “These operations target illegal employment networks that undermine American workers, destabilize the labor markets, and expose critical infrastructure to exploitation.”

Trump — who was re-elected in November on a promise to stymie the border crisis and conduct the largest deportation operation in United States history — has made enormous strides toward his enforcement goals.

Following the president’s return to the White House, DHS has boated of achieving “total control” of the southern border, with daily border encounters down 93% and encounters with “gotaways” — illegal migrants that avoid arrest and are considered to be a top safety threat — down 95%, according to data released by the administration. Altogether, migrant crossings have dropped 99.99%.

There are roughly 53,000 illegal migrants in detention preparing for deportation, the White House told the DCNF earlier in June. Additionally, ICE agents are getting closer to the administration’s goal of 3,000 arrests a day, with deportation officers across the country now surpassing 2,000 daily arrests.

In a surprise announcement Thursday, Trump suggested the nationwide crackdown would begin sparring those in the farming, hotel, and leisure industries, noting that these businesses rely heavily on foreign labor.

“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,” the president posted on Truth Social.

“This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!” he continued.

Hours after that social media post from Trump, a DHS official sent an email instructing agents to hold back on worksite enforcement operations and investigations on agriculture, meat-packing plants, restaurants, and hotels, according to the Washington Post.

However, on Sunday, the president posted on Truth Social, ordering ICE agents to “do all in their power” to achieve the largest mass deportation program in history. Trump called on ICE, Border Patrol, and other law enforcement agents to focus their manpower on large Democrat-run cities such as Los Angeles and New York City, major localities that have sanctuary laws in place protecting illegal migrants.

Since entering office, the president has expanded authorities for other federal law enforcement agencies to help ICE agents carry out arrest and deportation operations across the country. The administration has also eliminated restrictions on enforcement locations, allowing ICE agents far more discretion to locate criminal illegal anywhere they may be hiding.

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