Trump Now Says Farmers May Continue Employing Migrants Under a System Where They Assume 'Responsibility' For Them

President Donald Trump said on Friday that farmers may be able to keep employing undocumented migrant workers without fearing enforcement raids under a system in which they would take "responsibility" for them.

"We're looking at doing something where in the case of good, reputable farmers, they can take responsibility for the people that they hire, and let them have responsibility, because we can't put the farms out of business, and at the same time, we don't want to hurt people that aren't criminals," Trump told press on Friday.

It was not immediately clear how the system would work, and is the latest of several changes of tune regarding the matter.

Trump suggested last week that migrants working in industries like farming would be exempted from enforcement raids given the disproportionate impact that enforcement operations could have in the economy and the industry.

After the statement, ICE officials reportedly told staff in an internal email to largely lay off raids and arrests in the agricultural, hotel and restaurant industries. However, the pause did not last long. By Sunday, Trump had publicly reversed his previously proposed policy entirely, ordering agents via a Truth Social post to deliver what he called the "single largest Mass Deportation Program in History"— focusing particularly on America's largest cities, almost all being run by Democrats.

By Tuesday, the workplace raids were seemingly back on track: ICE agents raided Delta Downs, a horse racing track in Vinton, Louisiana, rounding up nearly 100 equine caretakers, some of whom fled the scenes as drones swarmed overhead, according to Eric J. Hamelback, chief executive of the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association.

On Thursday, White House border czar Tom Homan said immigration enforcement raids will continue at places like hotels and farms, but claimed people with criminal records will be prioritized. Now Trump has provided the latest twist to the matter.

Undocumented immigrants make up 4.6% of the U.S. workforce— more than 7 million people. Many of them work in agriculture, hospitality and construction, The Guardian reports.

In this context, many immigrants across the country have stopped showing up to work in fear of immigration raids. A sprawling report by Bloomberg noted that the U.S. workforce shrank in May in part due to a decline in foreign-born workers.

Shay Myers, who runs Parma, one of the country's largest onion farms, warned that "we will not feed our people without these workers," considering that the Department of Agriculture estimates that over 40% of industry workers are undocumented.

The shifting stance has created confusion among employers, Bloomberg detailed. In California's agricultural Ventura County and downtown Los Angeles' Fashion District, some areas have seen large declines in worker attendance following immigration raids. The LA Fashion District reported a 40% drop in casual visits and a 24% drop in employee attendance since a major ICE operation on June 6.