Nearly half of the farm workers in the United States are illegal immigrants, experts say Trump's policies will harm agriculture.

Trump's plan to carry out a large-scale expulsion of illegal immigrants may damage the U.S. agricultural sector, which is already struggling with labor shortages. Matt Carstens, CEO of Landus, Iowa's largest farming cooperative, cautioned against Trump's plan. If the incoming Trump administration continues to expel potentially millions of undocumented immigrants, agriculture will be one of the hardest-hit industries in the United States. This impact could be particularly severe in areas like California, which produce specialty crops such as fruits, nuts, and vegetables, as well as in the Midwest region with a focus on grains and soybeans. Carstens noted that the agricultural sector remains labor-intensive. In an interview on Tuesday, he stated, "Agriculture does need labor, and it needs to come from everywhere." The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported that nearly half of farm workers do not have legal immigrant status. The percentage of illegal laborers working in the U.S. has risen from 14% in 1989-91 to around 40% in recent years. Meanwhile, although the number of people leaving rural counties in the U.S. has slightly decreased since the outbreak of the global pandemic in 2020, the overall population has decreased over the past decade.