Senator Ed Merkley (D-Oregon) put out a statement criticizing the raid in his state. “Trump is using ICE to stoke fear and uncertainty in our communities, shredding our Constitution in the process,” he said.
DHS is facing broad public criticism and lawsuits over its sweeps, which sometimes include picking up food and farm workers and often disrupt restaurant operations, as well as charges that it is detaining American citizens.
DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that DHS operations are “highly targeted” and that “some” of the 26 immigrants arrested in Oregon had criminal histories, but she did not specify whether the farmworkers were among them. DHS declined to provide details on the operation in Florida.
On the raid in California, DHS directed Civil Eats to a news release that says ICE arrested three individuals involved in a “scheme” to exploit federal guestworker programs. It names a labor recruiter who is accused of charging workers for H-2A guestworker visas, but it’s unclear whether the recruiter was one of the workers arrested. DHS did not respond to a request for clarification.
The Trump administration has meanwhile taken steps to make it easier for farmers to use the guestworker program in the future to make up for the loss of the undocumented workforce, but worker exploitation within the program has long been an issue. (Link to this post.)
