【By Shao Yun, Observer Net】

At the beginning of this month, federal law enforcement agencies such as the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted sudden raids on undocumented immigrants, leading to a large number of street confrontations, chaos, and conflicts, leaving a mess behind. Although large-scale protests have now subsided, the impact of the reduced immigrant population on the U.S. economy is beginning to show.

According to a report by Reuters on June 30, after the Trump administration began raiding undocumented immigrants, many farms in California are facing a "labor shortage," with crops ready for harvest going uncollected, potentially causing massive waste. A farmer familiar with the situation said that she observed about 70% of the workers had stopped coming to work, while American local workers generally do not want to take on such jobs, and many farms may be crushed as a result.

According to data from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, more than one-third of vegetables in the United States, and more than three-quarters of fruits and nuts, are produced in California. In 2023, the total output value of agriculture and livestock in the state was close to $60 billion. However, farmers, farm managers, and immigrant agricultural workers in various parts of California recently told Reuters that the ICE raids had caused most workers to stop working, affecting the harvest.

"In the fields, I can say that about 70% of the workers are gone," said Lisa Tate, a sixth-generation farmer from Ventura County, California. "If 70% of the labor force doesn't come to work, 70% of the crops won't be picked, and they might spoil within a day. Most Americans don't want to do this kind of job. Most farmers here barely break even, and I'm worried that this blow will be the tipping point for many people's bankruptcy."

A farm supervisor from Mexico, who did not want to reveal his name, also said that he was supervising a field preparing for strawberry planting last week. This area usually had 300 workers, but now there were only 80. Another supervisor working at a different farm said that his farmland usually had 80 workers harvesting, but only 17 came recently.

On June 12, 2025, in Oxnard, California, USA, farm workers are working in a chili field. Visual China

The report pointed out that American economists and political figures basically acknowledge that most agricultural workers in the U.S. are undocumented immigrants. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office and Republican economist, said that approximately 80% of agricultural workers in the U.S. were born abroad, with nearly half lacking legal status. If the number of these workers drops sharply, it would cause a "devastating impact" on the U.S. agricultural and food supply chain economy.

It is reported that many undocumented immigrant agricultural workers are concerned that if they are caught, they will never see their families again. "Basically, we wake up every morning in fear," said an undocumented migrant agricultural worker. "We are worried about the sun and heat, and now there is another bigger problem — many people can't go back home. I try not to get into trouble on the street. Now, no matter what the reason, being arrested will lead to deportation."

However, according to Reuters, some agricultural worker community organizations predict that although the attendance rate will decrease in the first few days of the raids, most undocumented agricultural workers will return to work in the short term because they have no other sources of income. The report said that to reduce contact with federal law enforcement officers, many people are taking measures such as carpooling with people who have legal status and having children with U.S. citizenship go to the supermarket for shopping.

It is worth noting that President Trump himself also admitted on his own social media platform, Truth Social, this month that the ICE raids indeed took away many "very excellent long-term workers," and "these jobs are almost irreplaceable." He publicly told the media that American farmers had been "severely harmed," saying, "They had very good workers, who were not citizens but performed very well."

Trump promised to issue executive orders to address this impact, but so far, no policy changes have been introduced. When responding to a query from Reuters, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly only said, "President Trump has always firmly supported farmers. He will continue to strengthen our agricultural industry, expand exports, while fulfilling his commitment to immigration enforcement."

Bernard Yaros, Chief Economist of Oxford Economics in the U.S., pointed out in a report released on June 26 that native-born American workers often cannot fill the gaps left by immigrants, as they typically work in different fields.

Greg Tesch, who runs a farm in central California, also said that illegal immigrant agricultural workers have become an important part of the U.S. agricultural supply chain. "If the crops mature, for example, the bell peppers grown by our neighbors, if they are not harvested within two or three days, they will get sunburned or overripe. We need these laborers."

Tesch also said that even legal immigrants feel the "chill" of Trump's strict policies. "We all know that there are both documented and undocumented people in this area," Tesch said. "When people hear the word 'ICE,' no one feels safe, not even those with documents."

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