DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he is willing to let migrant laborers stay in the United States if the farmers they work for will vouch for them.
At a campaign-style speech at the Iowa state fairgrounds, Trump said he is working with the Homeland Security Department to help farmers who depend on migrant laborers for their seasonal needs. He said he will also work with the hotel industry on the issue.
Trump has been pursuing a hard-line policy on migration and his U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been leading an effort to deport people who crossed into the United States illegally.
This has led to some complaints from farmers that their crops are at risk due to a depleted work force.
“If a farmer is willing to vouch for these people in some way, Kristi, I think we’re going to have to just say that’s going to be good, right?”
“We don’t want to do it where we take all of the workers off the farms,” he added, speaking in a Midwestern state where farming is a dominant industry.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Steve Holland; Editing by Sandra Maler and Michael Perry)
