Trump Immigration Policy ‘Wreaking Havoc’ on U.S. Food Production, Say Former Agriculture Leaders

Mass deportations, removal of workers’ protected status, and failure to reform the H-2A seasonal labor visa program are “wreaking havoc” on dairy, fruit and produce, and meat processing, according to a letter to the House and Senate Committees for Agriculture from a bipartisan group of commodity organization chiefs, farm leaders and former USDA Officials.

The February 3 letter, originally reported in the New York Times, sounds the alarm on the policies of Donald Trump that are “threatening the long-term competitiveness of U.S. agriculture,” and offers a nine-point plan for addressing the issues.

“The policies of this Administration have caused tremendous harm to U.S. agriculture. But it is not too late to turn this around,” says the letter to Chairman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson and Ranking Member Angie Craig of the House Committee on Agriculture, along with Chairman John Boozman and Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar of the Senate Committee on Agriculture. It is signed by 24 leaders from the U.S. agricultural industry, including former heads of the National Corn Growers Association, American Soybean Association, Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration, National Milk Producers Federation, and a former USDA Deputy Under Secretary.

The letter lists policies it says are exacerbating an already economically strained industry, including the administration’s stance on immigration. “The current Administration’s actions, along with Congressional inaction, have increased costs for farm inputs, disrupted overseas and domestic markets, denied agriculture its reliable labor pool, and defunded critical ag research and staffing,” the letter says. “Congress needs to assert itself on behalf of farmers if we are to avoid a widespread collapse of American agriculture and our rural communities.”

Read More: U.S. Cattle Herds Fall to Lowest Levels Since 1951

“Securing the border and discouraging illegal immigration should clearly be a national priority. But mass deportations, removal of protected status, and failure to reform the H-2A visa program are wreaking havoc with dairy, fruit and produce, and meat processing. Those disruptions are causing food to go to waste and driving up food costs for consumers. These disruptions are also financially squeezing food and agriculture businesses and sowing the seeds of division in rural communities. Farmers need these workers.”

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) figures, roughly half of hired crop farmworkers lack legal immigration status. The Pew Research Center estimated in 2024 that there were about 8 million unauthorized immigrants employed in the U.S., which is about 5% of the total workforce.

Read More: U.S. Tariff and Deportation Policies on Collision Course in Agribusiness 

Among their recommendations, the letter’s signatories urge the House and Senate members to “encourage the Administration to expeditiously complete the review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, favorably resolve the pending dairy dispute settlement case with Canada, and ensure that the USMCA is extended for the next sixteen years,” and to “pass farm labor reform including reform to the H-2A program.”

Requests by SupplyChainBrain for comment from the House and Senate Committees did not get an immediate response.

In response to an enquiry to the office of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Leslie Rollins,
a USDA spokesperson said, “President Trump is the most pro-farmer President of our lifetime, and through his leadership, the administration is supporting farmers through unprecedented international market access including over two dozen trade deals boosting ag market access and exports, lowered taxes, and improvements to the farm safety net in the One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Asked specifically about the Trump administration’s policy of rapid, mass deportation of workers without legal immigration status, the USDA spokesperson said, “President Trump is putting America First and that includes strengthening the farm workforce and streamlining H-2A and H-2B visa programs. Our immigration system has been broken for decades, and we finally have a President who is enforcing the law and prioritizing fixing programs farmers and ranchers rely on to produce the safest and most productive food supply in the world.”