Trump Official Suggests 'Adults on Medicaid' Take Migrant Farmworkers' Spots in Pledge to Continue Deportations

A top Trump official is facing backlash after suggesting that millions of "able-bodied adults on Medicaid" should replace undocumented migrant farmers as part of a broader plan to continue mass deportations and reshape the U.S. agricultural workforce.

On Tuesday, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins made the remarks during a press conference in Washington, D.C., where she reaffirmed the Trump administration's hardline stance against amnesty and defended its plans for mass deportations, even as the agriculture industry warns of looming labor shortages.

"There will be no amnesty. The mass deportations continue," Rollins said, adding that the administration's strategy would rely on "automation and 100% American participation" in the farm sector. She pointed to "34 million able-bodied adults on Medicaid" as a potential domestic labor pool to replace the largely immigrant workforce that currently powers much of the U.S. food supply chain.

The comments have sparked outrage among labor advocates, health policy experts, and immigration groups, who say the proposal is unrealistic, dehumanizing, and economically reckless. Critics argue that Medicaid recipients, many of whom are already working, in school, or dealing with disabilities, should not be scapegoated to justify a politically motivated immigration crackdown.

They also warn that a sudden loss of undocumented farm labor could significantly disrupt food production and increase prices nationwide.

Rollins, a former Trump policy aide now serving in his second administration, also announced new limits on foreign land ownership, particularly by U.S. adversaries like China. She said she would officially join the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews foreign acquisitions of American businesses and assets, including farmland.

What happens next remains unclear. While the Trump administration has pledged to avoid raids on some agricultural worksites in the short term, industry groups remain deeply concerned about long-term labor shortages.