Trump's Mass Deportations Are Pushing US Farms to Breaking Point
Source: Newsweek
Published Apr 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM EDT
President Donald Trump's mass deportation plans are pushing American farms to a "breaking point," experts warned. Martin Casanova, founder of THX, a program that connects consumers with farmworkers, told Newsweek. "We are dangerously close to a breaking point. In 2022, an estimated 15 million tons of produce were left unharvested in the U.S.enough for 30 billion daily servings."
Why It Matters
A key aspect of Trump's immigration agenda is the removal of millions of undocumented immigrants, with a focus on the immediate deportation of individuals who were in the U.S. illegally, especially those with criminal records. However, the president's flagship policy has sparked concerns about its potential ripple effects on the economy.
Business leaders are advocating for a more balanced approach that supports businesses while preserving the essential workforce crucial to their survival. Agricultural output will fall between $30 and $60 billion if Trump's flagship policy is carried out, according to the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC).
What To Know
The crisis facing U.S. agriculture is not just a political issue but an economic one. Labor shortages in the sector are already contributing to rising food prices. Farms are struggling to find enough workers to harvest crops, which results in lower yields, a tight supply, and higher costs for consumers. Perishable crops, such as fruits and vegetables, are particularly vulnerable.
Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/trump-mass-deportation-farms-breaking-point-2064190

Lovie777
(18,144 posts)agree to send farmers money?
Biophilic
(5,556 posts)Dan
(4,628 posts)NickB79
(19,881 posts)I'd suggest you get on that, if you have a patch of ground to work up.
magicarpet
(18,096 posts)..... change the state employment laws and allow 8 year old to be crop pickers out in the fields. An elementary, junior high, and high school education are becoming secondary.
If they are below 16 years old they should receive only half the federal minimum wage.
USA,... USA,.... USA.
A race to the bottom for the working class,... a race to unimaginable self-enrichments for the filthy ostentatious rich.
Hekate
(97,376 posts)Botany
(73,956 posts)Watch your crops rot in the field, guess your dairy cows will learn to milk themselves,
and good luck getting the market for your sorghum back. Although some farmers will
get bailed out by Trump use of tax dollars but the cost of food will go way up.
Amaryllis
(10,291 posts)SunSeeker
(55,540 posts)Martin Eden
(14,181 posts)Working on farms to harvest vegetables is VERY American. They will be PROUD to do that work.
Keepthesoulalive
(1,208 posts)They could have had a steady hand that would have helped them with trade and other ways to sell their crops , instead the voted for Freddy Kruger the mad slasher.
Marthe48
(20,517 posts)even if his methods cost more with fewer results.
I saw a graph last week showing the number of people deported and the cost under each U.S. president since at least Clinton. Every pres. deported more people at lower cost than felon has, either in regime 1 or currently. If I can find the graph, I'll add it.
In my opinion, just like always, others will do the work, do it fairly, and do it better, while felon flounders around like an inept swimmer trying to keep up with the champs.
While other administrations used legal methods and law to deport, felon is kidnapping Americans, seizing protected people who believed they were safe and rounding up vulnerable family groups with relatives who could legally house them. So along with the tinsel, felon is also flooding the courts with suits that didn't need to be brought. And the media will air every story, either to prove felon is doing what he said, or to keep the cruelty in front of those of us hoping that humans will be humane.
RhapsodyFav
(50 posts)They are going to start using prison slave labor, maybe even putting the "illegals" in the prisons and make them work for the farmers for free.