SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Politics : View from the Center and Left

 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  
From: Sam10/11/2025 6:55:07 PM
4 Recommendations

Recommended By
kidl
rdkflorida2
S. maltophilia
Tom Daly

  Read Replies (1) of 541033
 
Trump administration says immigration enforcement threatens higher food prices
In an unusual acknowledgement, the Labor Department said that tougher immigration enforcement is hurting farmers and the food supply.

Updated
October 11, 2025 at 12:24 p.m. EDTtoday at 12:24 p.m. EDT

washingtonpost.com
should be paywall free

excerpt:

The Trump administration said that its immigration crackdown is hurting farmers and risking higher food prices for Americans by cutting off agriculture’s labor supply.

The Labor Department warned in an obscure document filed with the Federal Register last week that “the near total cessation of the inflow of illegal aliens” is threatening “the stability of domestic food production and prices for U.S. consumers.”

“Unless the Department acts immediately to provide a source of stable and lawful labor, this threat will grow,” with increased funding for immigration enforcement from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Labor Department said in the Federal Register, which is the place where all proposed rules are recorded for the public to view and comment.

Advertisement

Also, contradicting comments made by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins that the U.S. farm workforce will become “100 percent American” as a result of mass deportations, the Labor Department noted that Americans are not willing to step into farm work and lack the skills to fill agricultural jobs that undocumented immigrants are abandoning.

“The Department concludes that qualified and eligible U.S. workers will not make themselves available in sufficient numbers,” the agency said.

The American Prospect first reported on the Labor Department’s comments that immigration policies are endangering the food supply and that American workers are unwilling to take agricultural jobs.

The Labor Department’s comments appear to be the first time that the Trump administration has publicly acknowledged that its hallmark immigration policy — sealing the border and deporting undocumented immigrants — threatens labor shortages and higher food prices. However, economists have been sounding the alarm since Trump campaigned on the issue during last year’s presidential election.

The Labor Department made this case in paperwork documenting a new rule that took effect Oct. 2 that effectively lowers pay for seasonal migrants working in agriculture under the H-2A visa program. The move is aimed at giving farmers easier and legal access to foreign workers “to avoid imminent widespread disruption across the U.S. agricultural sector,” the agency said, and is expected to cut farmers’ labor costs by $24 billion over the next 10 years.

continues at the link
Report TOU ViolationShare This Post
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext