Trump says the administration is working on a 'temporary pass' for immigrants in certain industries
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said in an interview on Fox News that the administration is working to develop a temporary pass for immigrants who work in certain industries, which would mark the latest shift in the administration's approach to immigration enforcement for farmworkers.
"We're working on it right now. We're going to work it so that some kind of a temporary pass where people pay taxes, where the farmer can have a little control, as opposed to you walk in and take everybody away," Trump said in an interview that was taped Friday and aired Sunday on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures."
The president referenced authorities going to farms and taking "away people that have been working there for 15 and 20 years, who are good, who possibly came in incorrectly."
"What we're going to do is we're going to do something for farmers, where we can let the farmer sort of be in charge. The farmer knows. He's not going to hire a murderer," Trump said. "When you go into a farm and he's had somebody working with him for nine 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's a problem."
Reached for comment, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security provided the same comment the department gave this month after the White House reversed a plan to limit immigration enforcement activity at certain industry workplaces.
"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," the statement read.
"Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability. These operations target illegal employment networks that undermine American workers, destabilize labor markets and expose critical infrastructure to exploitation," the statement continued.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for further details about Trump's plan and whether DHS' response conflicted with the temporary pass plan.
The move marks the latest shift in the administration's handling of immigrant farmworkers. The White House has waffled in recent weeks about whether to exempt certain worksites from Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
Trump said on Truth Social on June 12 that farmers and people in the hotel and leisure industries had said the administration's immigration policy "is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace." He said that "we must protect our Farmers," adding that "changes are coming." NBC News has reported that at around the same time, ICE paused worksite arrests in the agriculture, restaurant and hotel industries.
But just days later, the administration reopened arrests of immigrant workers in those industries. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin provided the same statement then as the DHS statement Sunday.
"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," McLaughlin said after DHS reversed the pause this month.
A White House spokesperson said after the pause reversal that Trump "remains committed to enforcing federal immigration law — anyone present in the United States illegally is at risk of deportation."
Trump in April floated the idea that undocumented people working at farms and hotels could be allowed to leave the country and return legally. NBC News has reported that an administration official said Trump wanted to improve H-2A and H-2B programs, which allow employers to temporarily hire migrant workers.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time Magazine
14 minutes ago
- Time Magazine
What to Know About Medicaid
Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income Americans that provides coverage for more than 70 million people, faces its biggest overhaul in decades under President Donald Trump's 'One, Big, Beautiful Bill,' a massive tax and spending package now being considered by the Senate that would slash its funding. Both the House and Senate versions of the bill, which is still undergoing changes as the upper chamber votes on amendments, would reduce funding for the program by hundreds of billions of dollars, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Nearly 12 million adults could lose health insurance because of the proposed cuts in the Senate's revised bill over the next decade, the CBO estimated in a Saturday report. Much of the cuts are expected to come through imposing new administrative requirements on enrollees, or risk losing their coverage. The White House has rejected the CBO's findings, insisting that the cuts to the program will only reduce fraud and waste. 'President Trump pledged to protect and preserve Medicaid, and that's exactly what The One, Big, Beautiful accomplishes by kicking illegal immigrants off the program, implementing commonsense work requirements, and enforcing basic eligibility verification to combat fraud,' White House spokesman Kush Desai wrote to TIME. The House narrowly passed the bill in May, and lawmakers are now working in an effort to pass the proposed legislation by a July 4 deadline imposed by Trump. The proposed Medicaid cuts have been contentious among Republicans, some of whom have been wary of their potential impact. Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican of North Carolina, has vowed to vote against the bill unless his concerns over the cuts are addressed. Here's what to know about Medicaid. What is Medicaid? Medicaid was created following the passage of the 1965 Social Security Amendments under President Lyndon B. Johnson, according to the National Archives. The law established both Medicare, which generally provides health insurance coverage for Americans aged 65 and older, and Medicaid, which serves low-income people. Medicaid is financed jointly by state and federal governments and accounts for about a sixth of health care spending in the U.S. It's a hugely popular program among Americans: More than 80% have a positive view of Medicaid, according to a survey conducted earlier this month by nonpartisan research organization KFF. The Affordable Care Act enabled states to expand Medicaid eligibility to include non-elderly adults whose income was up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level—a national median of $44,367 for a family of four this year. Forty states and Washington, D.C., have so far adopted the expansion, 90% of which is funded by the federal government. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress allocated additional Medicaid funds so recipients could maintain "continuous coverage,' requiring states to keep most people enrolled in the program regardless of income in exchange for the enhanced federal funding. Continuous enrollment concluded at the end of March 2023, and an 'unwinding' process began. Some states have alternative names for Medicaid, such as DenaliCare in Alaska, KanCare in Kansas, and SoonerCare in Oklahoma. How many people are enrolled in Medicaid? Medicaid enrollment has stood at around 20% of the total U.S. population for the last several years, the Pew Research Center reports. Some 71.3 million low-income people in the U.S. were enrolled in the program in March 2025, more than half of whom were adults, according to a report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The figure was notably higher in recent years: Roughly 100 million people were enrolled in Medicaid at some point in 2023, according to a December 2024 report by The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission. The numbers have declined following the end of continuous enrollment, however, as states have resumed disenrolling people from the program. The proportion of people enrolled in the program varies significantly between states. More than 30% of residents in Louisiana and New Mexico are covered by Medicaid, according to KFF, compared to just 12% in Wyoming and North Dakota. Who is eligible for Medicaid? The federal government sets broad eligibility requirements for Medicaid. It requires states to cover some groups when they fall below certain income levels, including pregnant women, families with children, disabled people, and most children in foster care. But since the program is state-administered, Medicaid qualifications vary on a state-by-state basis. For instance, some immigrants may be eligible for coverage in states such as New Jersey or New York. One of the provisions in the Senate version of Trump's tax and spending bill was intended to cut federal funding to states that use Medicaid to provide health care to undocumented immigrants. However, that part of the bill is in limbo after the Senate parliamentarian found that the measure did not comply with Senate rules. Are Medicaid recipients required to work? Current regulations in most states do not require Medicaid recipients to work. In Georgia, however, applicants are required to prove that they completed at least 80 hours of work or volunteer services to receive coverage. Because of this verification system, a ProPublica report found that Georgia enrolled only a fraction of Medicaid-eligible people: some 7,500 of the estimated 250,000 eligible residents. Attempts to implement work requirements in Arkansas were struck down by a federal court in 2019. A federal judge blocked similar requirements in Kentucky from taking effect the previous year, and Governor Andy Beshear halted efforts to impose them in 2019 shortly after taking office. Idaho, Kentucky, and Indiana have adopted legislation to impose work requirements this year, according to KFF. Other states are weighing imposing similar measures. And potential work requirements are being considered on a federal level in Trump's 'One, Big, Beautiful Bill.' The package would require Medicaid recipients from ages 19 to 64 to verify that they work at least 80 hours a month, or are training for a new job, studying, or volunteering. People's work status would be checked twice a year. Most working-age adults on Medicaid are employed, or have a disability or caregiving responsibilities, according to KFF.
Associated Press
15 minutes ago
- Associated Press
What's in the latest version of Trump's big bill moving through the Senate
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are inching closer to getting their tax and spending cut bill through Congress with a final Senate vote likely late Monday or early Tuesday. At some 940-pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defense and deportations. President Donald Trump has admonished Republicans, who hold majority power in the House and Senate, to skip their holiday vacations and deliver the bill by the Fourth of July. Democrats are united against the legislation and were offering scores of amendments to alter it Monday as the Senate slogged through what is known as a vote-a-rama. Senators can offer an unlimited number of amendments, with each receiving a vote. Once the bill clears the Senate, it would have to pass the House before Trump can sign it into law. Here's the latest on what's in the bill. There could be changes as GOP lawmakers continue to negotiate. Tax cuts are the priority Republicans say the bill is crucial because there would be a massive tax increase after December when tax breaks from Trump's first term expire. The legislation contains about $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. The existing tax rates and brackets would become permanent under the bill. It temporarily would add new tax breaks that Trump campaigned on: no taxes on tips, overtime pay, the ability to deduct interest payments for some automotive loans, along with a $6,000 deduction for older adults who earn no more than $75,000 a year. It would boost the $2,000 child tax credit to $2,200. Millions of families at lower income levels would not get the full credit. A cap on state and local deductions, called SALT, would quadruple to $40,000 for five years. It's a provision important to New York and other high tax states, though the House wanted it to last for 10 years. There are scores of business-related tax cuts, including allowing businesses to immediately write off 100% of the cost of equipment and research. The wealthiest households would see a $12,000 increase from the legislation, which would cost the poorest people $1,600 a year, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analysis of the House's version. Middle-income taxpayers would see a tax break of $500 to $1,500, the CBO said. Money for deportations, a border wall and the Golden Dome The bill would provide some $350 billion for Trump's border and national security agenda, including $46 billion for the U.S.-Mexico border wall and $45 billion for 100,000 migrant detention facility beds, as he aims to fulfill his promise of the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history. Money would go for hiring 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, with $10,000 signing bonuses and a surge of Border Patrol officers, as well. The goal is to deport some 1 million people per year. The homeland security secretary would have a new $10 billion fund for grants for states that help with federal immigration enforcement and deportation actions. To help pay for it, immigrants would face various new fees, including when seeking asylum protections. For the Pentagon, the bill would provide billions for ship building, munitions systems, and quality of life measures for servicemen and women, as well as $25 billion for the development of the Golden Dome missile defense system. The Defense Department would have $1 billion for border security. How to pay for it? Cuts to Medicaid and other programs To help partly offset the lost tax revenue and new spending, Republicans aim to cut back on Medicaid and food assistance for the poor. Republicans argue they are trying to rightsize the safety net programs for the population they were initially designed to serve, mainly pregnant women, the disabled and children, and root out what they describe as waste, fraud and abuse. The package includes new 80-hour-a-month work requirements for many adults receiving Medicaid and food stamps, including older people up to age 65. Parents of children 14 and older would have to meet the program's work requirements. There's also a proposed new $35 co-payment that can be charged to patients using Medicaid services. More than 71 million people rely on Medicaid, which expanded under Obama's Affordable Care Act, and 40 million use the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program. Most already work, according to analysts. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law and 3 million more would not qualify for food stamps. The Senate proposes a $25 billion Rural Hospital Transformation Program to help offset reduced Medicaid dollars. It's a new addition, intended to win over holdout GOP senators and a coalition of House Republicans warning that the proposed Medicaid provider tax cuts would hurt rural hospitals. A 'death sentence' for clean energy? Republicans are proposing to dramatically roll back tax breaks designed to boost clean energy projects fueled by renewable sources such as energy and wind. The tax breaks were a central component of President Joe Biden's 2022 landmark bill focused on addressing climate change and lowering healthcare costs. Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden went so far as to call the GOP provisions a 'death sentence for America's wind and solar industries and an inevitable hike in utility bills.' Under the bill, a tax credit that subsidizes the production of electricity would be eliminated for any wind and solar plant not plugged into the grid by the end of 2027. But Republicans aren't just looking to roll back the tax breaks Biden put into place: they're also looking to add a tax for new wind and solar projects that use a certain percentage of components from China. A tax break for people who buy new or used electric vehicles would expire on Sept. 30 of this year, instead of at the end of 2032 under current law. Meanwhile, a tax credit for the production of critical materials will be expanded to include metallurgical coal used in steelmaking. Trump savings accounts and so, so much more A number of extra provisions reflect other GOP priorities. The House and Senate both have a new children's savings program, called Trump Accounts, with a potential $1,000 deposit from the Treasury. The Senate provided $40 million to establish Trump's long-sought 'National Garden of American Heroes.' There's a new excise tax on university endowments. A $200 tax on gun silencers and short-barreled rifles and shotguns was eliminated. One provision bars money to family planning providers, namely Planned Parenthood, while $88 million is earmarked for a pandemic response accountability committee. Another section expands the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, a hard-fought provision from GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, for those impacted by nuclear development and testing. Billions would go for the Artemis moon mission and for exploration to Mars. The bill would deter states from regulating artificial intelligence by linking certain federal AI infrastructure money to maintaining a freeze. Seventeen Republican governors have asked GOP leaders to drop the provision. Additionally, a provision would increase the nation's debt limit, by $5 trillion, to allow continued borrowing to pay already accrued bills. What's the final cost? Altogether, the Congressional Budget Office projects that the bill would increase federal deficits over the next 10 years by nearly $3.3 trillion from 2025 to 2034. Or not, depending on how one does the math. Senate Republicans are proposing a unique strategy of not counting the existing tax breaks as a new cost because those breaks are already 'current policy.' Republican senators say the Senate Budget Committee chairman has the authority to set the baseline for the preferred approach. Under the alternative Senate GOP view, the bill would reduce deficits by almost a half-trillion dollars over the coming decade, the CBO said. Democrats say this is 'magic math' that obscures the true costs of the tax breaks. Some nonpartisan groups worried about the country's fiscal trajectory are siding with Democrats in that take. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says Senate Republicans are employing an 'accounting gimmick that would make Enron executives blush.'
Fox News
20 minutes ago
- Fox News
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Trump slams LA with lawsuit over ICE operations
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here's what's happening… - Americans weigh in on Trump's Big, Beautiful Bill: polls - Trump may look to his daughter-in-law to defend Senate seat in key battleground - Mamdani's public grocery stores may have devastating effects on the city's food supply FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is suing the city of Los Angeles, alleging that the policies interfere with federal immigration authorities from doing their jobs. "Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles," Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News in an exclusive statement. "Jurisdictions like Los Angeles that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level – it ends under President Trump," Bondi added… READ MORE. UNPOPULAR: Americans weigh in on Trump's Big, Beautiful Bill: polls 'CHERISH OUR FARMERS': Trump urges 'temporary pass' from immigration crackdown for key industries: 'I cherish our farmers' FAMILY IN THE FRAY: Trump may look to his daughter-in-law to defend Senate seat in key battleground 'CIRCLE OF PEACE': Trump pressures Israel to end Gaza conflict as he eyes Abraham Accords expansion MIDDLE EAST SHAKEUP: Trump to sign order lifting sanctions on Syria FREE SPEECH FIGHT: Supreme Court to hear Republican challenge that could shake up US elections RETAIL RISK RISING: Mamdani's public grocery stores may have devastating effects on city's food supply Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on
