The Trump administration has lifted a short-lived pause on immigration arrests at farms, hotels and restaurants, reversing a major policy pivot just a few days after issuing it internally, two sources familiar with the latest guidance told CBS News.
One of the sources said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials were told they could continue carrying out worksite enforcement operations to arrest unauthorized immigrants at farms, hotels and restaurants, as long as they are targeted in nature.
The sources, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said ICE officials were informed of the new guidance during a call Monday.
In a statement, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said, “The President has been incredibly clear. There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE’s efforts.”
“Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability,” McLaughlin added. “These operations target illegal employment networks that undermine American workers, destabilize labor markets and expose critical infrastructure to exploitation.”
Last week, ICE officials were directed to suspend worksite enforcement operations targeting farms, hotels and restaurants, amid growing concerns among industry leaders that President Trump’s aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration was spooking their foreign-born workers, many of whom are in the country illegally or on temporary humanitarian programs his administration has sought to curtail.
Mr. Trump himself last week recognized how U.S. farmers and hotel operators rely on immigrant employees, and appeared to preview an upcoming order to protect these industries.
“We can’t take farmers and take all their people and send them back because they don’t have, maybe, what they’re supposed to have, maybe not,” Mr. Trump said, adding later, “We can’t do that to our farmers. And leisure, too. Hotels. We’re going to have to use a lot of common sense on that.”
Still, last week’s scaling back of worksite immigration enforcement was, in many ways, at odds with the Trump administration’s vow to deport millions of immigrants living in the U.S. unlawfully. Two of his top immigration advisers, Stephen Miller and Tom Homan, have both talked about increasing immigration arrests at worksites to fulfill the administration’s mass deportation plans.
Last week, ICE arrested more than 70 migrants at a meat processing plant in Omaha, Nebraska, as part of an operation that the agency touted as the largest of its kind in that state.
Daily ICE arrests have increased in recent weeks, from an average of 660 in Mr. Trump’s first 100 days in office to 1,200 in June, due in large part to enhanced operations in major cities like Los Angeles supported by other federal agencies, like the FBI and Customs and Border Protection. But they remain far below the 3,000 daily arrest rate pushed by the White House.
