Trump Announces Plan to 'Put the Farmers in Charge' of Migrant Farmworkers

President Donald Trump shared a new proposal that would allow farmers unveiled a new proposal that would allow migrant farmworkers facing deportation to remain in the U.S.

"We're going to sort of put the farmers in charge," Trump told a crowd at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. "If a farmer is willing to vouch for these people...I think we're going to have to just say that's going to be good."

Trump said the plan would be implemented in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, with legislation already being drafted.

"You know, they've had people working for them for years...Some of the farmers literally, you know, they cry when they see this happen," Trump said, referring to ICE raids at farms. "We don't want to do it where we take all the workers off the farms. We want the farms to do great."

The president also floated expanding the plan to workers in the hospitality sector, including hotels and leisure properties.

Critics, including California Republican state Sen. Melissa Melendez, have already spoken out against deportation exemptions.

"So...we should look the other way regarding illegal immigration as long as it's in the construction, hotel or restaurant industries?," she wrote on X. "This is far beyond disappointing, it's infuriating."

Trump acknowledged that some on the "radical-right" of his party might oppose the move, but argued it was necessary to keep American farms running. He emphasized that removing criminals remained a priority, going on to suggest that farmers would be held accountable for workers they vouched for.

"If the farmers don't do a good job, we'll throw them the hell out of the country," joked the president. "We'll let the illegals stay, and we'll throw the farmers the hell out."

Iowa is the nation's second-largest agricultural exporting state, and the proposal comes amid growing pressure to balance Trump's hardline immigration agenda with the realities of the agricultural labor force.