Trump Admin Directs ICE to Stop Raids at Farms, Hotels And Restaurants

Farm, hotel, and restaurant owners may be off the hook—at least for now. The Trump administration is halting immigration enforcement operations in these sectors, citing business concerns. The shift has sparked backlash from some of the president’s strongest allies.

Key Facts:

ICE was ordered to pause worksite enforcement operations at farms, restaurants, hotels, and meatpacking plants, per internal guidance confirmed by officials.
President Trump said the move was prompted by complaints from business owners facing labor shortages.
Despite this change, Trump is still pushing for mass deportations, especially in major Democrat-run cities.
Some allies like Rep. Thomas Massie and Matt Walsh sharply criticized the decision as a betrayal of immigration enforcement principles.
ICE raids have recently occurred in California and Nebraska, sparking nationwide protests and unrest.

The Rest of The Story:

President Trump’s administration has ordered ICE to halt raids and investigations targeting illegal immigrants working in specific industries—namely agriculture, hospitality, and food service.

The directive came in the form of an email from senior ICE official Tatum King, verified by both The New York Times and the Associated Press.

DHS confirmed the email’s contents, stating that it will continue to follow Trump’s priorities by targeting violent criminals for removal.

Trump, speaking to reporters, said, “We can’t take farmers and take all their people and send them back… they end up hiring the criminals that have come in, the murderers from prisons and everything else.”

Even with this carve-out, Trump reaffirmed his intention to carry out the “largest Mass Deportation Operation” in U.S. history, especially in Democrat-led cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York.

Commentary:

This decision is a clear carve-out, and it’s one that doesn’t sit well with many Americans who have supported a firm and consistent approach to immigration enforcement.

No industry—no matter how essential—should get a free pass when it comes to obeying the law.

By sparing farms, hotels, and restaurants from immigration raids, the administration is setting a double standard.

Hardworking American citizens across every other sector are watching this happen, wondering why some employers get special treatment while others face the full force of enforcement.

If illegal labor is unacceptable in a factory or office, it should be equally unacceptable in a meatpacking plant or resort.

This kind of policy shift risks looking like favoritism toward big business—exactly the kind of swamp behavior Trump promised to drain.

If anything, enforcement should be expanded, not scaled back selectively.

The Biden administration already failed to control the border.

If Trump starts bending the rules for certain industries, what’s left of the strong immigration stance that earned him voter loyalty in the first place?

We support the 3,000 daily arrest target.

We support deporting violent criminals and clearing out sanctuary cities.

But when ICE agents are told to stand down at farms while illegal labor thrives, we lose the moral clarity this fight demands.

We’ve defended this administration through relentless attacks from the media, the left, and globalists—but this is indefensible.

Law must apply equally or it ceases to mean anything.

The Bottom Line:

Trump’s move to halt ICE raids at certain businesses has angered some of his most loyal supporters, who view it as a dangerous exception to otherwise strong immigration enforcement.

While the administration continues pushing for large-scale deportations elsewhere, this policy opens the door to accusations of double standards and political favoritism.

Consistency matters.

If the law is worth enforcing, it must be enforced across the board—no exceptions.