Trump Administration's Immigration Policies May Impact U.S. Agriculture
AI-Generated Summary
The Trump administration's immigration policies may severely affect U.S. agriculture, leading to labor shortages and increased grocery costs.
In his first day of office, President Donald Trump made it clear that he intends to follow through on his campaign promise to dramatically increase the deportation of undocumented immigrants and use tariffs as a lever in executing his trade policies.
But undocumented immigrants make up a critical portion of the agricultural workforce, so mass deportations could lead to serious shortages of farm labor -- especially given the limitations of the H-2A visa program and the challenges in attracting American workers to agricultural jobs.
Imported fruits and vegetables are often cheaper due to significantly lower wage rates abroad. These new policies stand to have a substantial impact on what produce costs at the grocery store.
