Trump floats 'temporary pass' for illegal immigrants working on farms and in hotels

President Trump is considering offering a “temporary pass” for non-violent illegal immigrants working on farms and in hotels, as he looks to strike a balance between deporting illegal immigrants and helping industries that rely heavily on that pool of migrant workers.

Mr. Trump said the pass would “let the farmer sort of be in charge” of who works for them and ensure those migrant workers pay taxes.

“The farmer knows,” he said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “He is not going to hire a murderer.”

“When you go into a farm and he has had somebody working with him for 9 years doing this kind of work, which is hard work to do, and a lot of people aren’t going to do it, and you end up destroying a farmer because you took all the people away. It is a problem,” the president said.

Mr. Trump has taken pride in securing the U.S.-Mexico border, which had been in disarray under President Joseph R. Biden.

He declared a border emergency, assigned the Pentagon to help defend the boundary, ended “parole” programs that drew migrants to the U.S., and shut down the avenue for questionable asylum claims, which led to more illegal immigrants receiving catch-and-release under the Biden administration.

The change has been dramatic, as border crossings have plummeted significantly.

The aggressive illegal immigration enforcement has also raised serious questions about farming and other industries that lean on migrant labor.

Mr. Trump signaled earlier this month that he was working on a solution for farmers, saying that farmers and those in the hotel and leisure industry have warned that “our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace.”

“This is not good,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social. “We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”

On Sunday, Mr. Trump said the situation is testing his political strengths.

“You know I am on both sides of the thing,” he said. “I am the strongest immigration guy that there has ever been, but I am also the strongest farmer guy there has ever been.”