BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) - President Trump may be signaling a potential shift in his administration’s immigration enforcement efforts, particularly when it comes to the agricultural sector. But some labor leaders aren’t convinced.
The president of United Farm Workers of America, Teresa Romero, says she’ll believe it when she sees it.
The ongoing immigration raids continue to deeply affect the agriculture industry, which relies heavily on undocumented labor. During recent remarks, Trump acknowledged the dilemma facing many American farmers.
“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.”
Romero responded bluntly:
“If he is in charge and he is concerned about farm workers, the raids will stop right now.”
Romero says if the president truly wants to support the nation’s farm workers, he should work to pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act—a bill that aims to create a pathway to legal status for long-term agricultural laborers.
“And that is a solution not only for the farmers but for their families, for those farm workers that have been here for 10, 20, 30 years or more working in the fields.”
According to data from the Department of Homeland Security, approximately 42% of farmworkers between 2020 and 2022 lacked legal status. Farmers in Kern County and across California rely on them to sustain their operations.
This week, video captured ICE agents chasing farm workers in Ventura County—an incident that has raised alarm across agricultural regions.
“It’s been happening in Ventura County, Kern County, San Joaquin Valley, in the Central Coast, it’s happening in all the agricultural areas here in California,” Romero said.
The Kern County Farm Bureau issued a statement Thursday emphasizing the vital role these workers play, stating in part:
“Our farmworkers are more than just employees—they are our neighbors, our friends, and the backbone of Kern County agriculture. They deserve to feel safe and respected in the communities they help sustain.”
In response to the heightened immigration enforcement, Romero says the UFW has been focused on educating workers about their rights.
“That’s what we can do, but right now, like I said, introducing the bill was the best thing that we could do and that is the answer to solve the problems of not only the workers but the farmers.”
While she hopes the Trump administration will ease its deportation policies, Romero remains wary.
“If he is in charge and he is concerned about farm workers, the raids will stop right now.”
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