President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that his administration is actively exploring a deportation exemption policy for undocumented immigrants working in agriculture and hospitality—two industries heavily reliant on long-term migrant labor. The proposal would allow certain illegal migrants to remain in the U.S. legally under a new system, without granting them citizenship.
Speaking during a tour of a new immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades—dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” due to its remote, swamp-surrounded location—Trump said the plan is aimed at protecting both American industries and national immigration priorities.
“We’re going to take care of our farmers and hotel workers, but we’re working on it right now. And Ron [DeSantis is] going to be involved,” Trump said. He described the situation as one of “farmer responsibility,” suggesting that employers who have relied on the same undocumented workers for 10 to 15 years should be allowed to sponsor those individuals under a new legal framework.
“They can be here legally. They can pay taxes and everything. They’re not getting citizenship, but they get other things,” Trump added. “Without those people, you’re not going to be able to run your farm.”
The president’s remarks come amid rising concern from agricultural and hospitality leaders who fear losing key workforce members in the event of widespread ICE raids. Trump acknowledged that concern, saying it had been raised repeatedly in recent weeks, and emphasized that farmers overwhelmingly supported his 2024 campaign.
“I won the farmers by 92%, and I’m not going to be abandoning my farmers,” he said during a roundtable discussion. “We need to get our farmers the people they need, otherwise the farmers aren’t going to be able to work their land.”
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Trump cited a historical precedent for his caution, referencing—though not by name—President Dwight Eisenhower’s 1954 mass deportation effort, which led to widespread labor shortages and economic disruption in the farming sector. “We tried this once before… almost all the farmers in the country went bankrupt,” he said.
While the plan has not been officially rolled out, it marks a notable departure from the administration’s earlier hardline tone on immigration. It also signals an attempt to balance aggressive enforcement with economic realities, particularly in red-state economies that depend on undocumented labor.
The proposed system would reportedly include a mechanism for farmers and hotel operators to sponsor long-term workers directly. These individuals would be granted a temporary legal status allowing them to work and pay taxes, but not to pursue citizenship.
Still, the plan is likely to face resistance from within Trump’s own base. Immigration hardliners may view any exemption or legalization effort as a betrayal of core principles, especially given the administration’s stated goal of deporting up to one million undocumented immigrants per year.
Trump addressed that tension in a recent Truth Social post:
“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… This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”
Despite the softer stance toward certain industries, Border Czar Tom Homan recently confirmed that ICE operations will continue as planned, though they are not currently the administration’s primary focus.
