The Department of Homeland Security has reversed course and reinstated Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on farms, hotels, and restaurants just days after briefly suspending operations in those sectors, according to officials briefed on the policy change. The move comes amid mounting pressure from hardline advisers within the Trump administration and growing tension over how to execute the president's mass deportation directive.
In a nationwide call with ICE field leadership Monday, agency officials made clear that all worksite enforcement actions are to proceed immediately, ending a short-lived pause announced last week under pressure from agricultural and hospitality industry groups. "Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability," said Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security.
President Donald Trump, returning from the G7 summit in Canada, dismissed concerns about the impact of the raids on key industries. "We'll look everywhere, but I think the biggest problem is inner cities," Trump said, adding on Truth Social that he had ordered the "single largest Mass Deportation Program in History."
Trump's pivot followed internal White House discord between immigration hawks and economic officials. The temporary reprieve was reportedly negotiated by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins after hotel and farm operators warned that ICE operations were disrupting their labor force. But the delay was swiftly overridden by Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who has pushed ICE to meet an aggressive target of 3,000 arrests per day. ICE has consistently averaged closer to 2,000.
"The president has been incredibly clear," McLaughlin said. "There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE's efforts."
The renewed raids have already hit construction sites in Texas, flood projects in Louisiana, and businesses in Pennsylvania. Last month, ICE detained about 40 individuals across the affluent vacation destinations of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.
Undocumented immigrants account for approximately 4.6% of the U.S. labor force, or more than seven million workers, with concentrations in agriculture, hospitality, and construction, according to the American Immigration Council. Critics say the crackdown jeopardizes essential segments of the economy.
"Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them," Trump posted last Thursday. "We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!"
Protests erupted in Los Angeles earlier this month in response to ICE sweeps, prompting the president to deploy National Guard troops and Marines to control demonstrations. Over the weekend, anti-Trump rallies labeled "No Kings" protests spread to several cities, signaling intensifying backlash to the administration's enforcement strategy.
