President Trump says he'll sign an executive order to protect farm workers and hotel workers from deportation.
- Undocumented farm workers in Kern County have been fearful to go to work because of the ICE raids occurring.
- Trump made his announcement during a press conference on Thursday.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
President Trump is now indicating he may sign an executive order to protect farm workers and hotel workers from deportation.
I'm Steve Virgen, your neighborhood reporter. This comes amid growing fear in the agricultural industry that immigration raids are endangering the industry.
It's no secret that the agriculture industry in Kern County relies on undocumented farmworkers. But with increased immigration raids, the fear among growers is that they might be left without a workforce. At a press conference on Thursday, President Trump signaled he may step in to protect farmworkers and hotel workers from deportation.
"Our farmers are being hurt badly by, you know, they have very good workers, they work for them for 20 years, they're not citizens, but they turn out to be, you know, they're great. And we're going to have to do something about that," President Trump said.
But what exactly that may be is unknown. Trump said he would sign an executive order to address the issue by taking what he called a "common-sense" approach.
"We can't take farmers and take all their people and send them back, because, they don't have maybe what they're supposed to have," Trump said.
Said Teresa Romero, president of the United Farm Workers Union: "If he's really concerned about farm workers, then these raids should stop immediately. We have a bill, and you know about our bill that we have introduced several times, the Farmworker Modernization Act, that is the solution to the workforce in agriculture."
This video of ICE agents chasing down a farm worker in a field in Ventura County on Wednesday caused worry among the workers. And Kern County is no stranger to immigration enforcement. In January, border patrol agents carried a three days enforcement operation. Agents stopped and detained people at gas stations, on the road and other places.
The Kern County Farm Bureau issued this statement on Thursday that reads: "The Kern County Farm Bureau continues to advocate for immigration policies that balance public safety with compassion, and we urge federal agencies to consider the long-term consequences of enforcement strategies that destabilize agriculture. Our farm workers are essential, and they deserve to feel safe and supported in the communities they help sustain."
"We need to think about the human casualties and how it is affecting individuals and families that are being affected by these raids," Romero said.
It's unclear for now if Trump's announcement that he will protect farm workers and hotel workers will do anything to calm fears among the workers and employers who rely on them. I'm Steve Virgen, your neighborhood reporter.
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