Key Takeaways

• Labor Shortages Threaten Food Supply: The Labor Department says deportations and tougher border enforcement are reducing the farm labor pool, warning that farmers may struggle to meet demand for fresh produce.

• White House Defends Immigration Crackdown: Trump officials say the focus is on enforcing the law and reforming outdated visa programs, ensuring farmers have access to a lawful, stable workforce without depending on illegal labor.

• Food Prices Already Climbing: Grocery costs have risen between 0.2 and 0.4 percent each month since January. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says tariff revenues could be used to help offset higher production costs.

The Labor Department is warning that the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts could cause an increase in food prices, pointing to labor shortages across the agriculture industry as the country faces growing demand for fresh produce.

In an interim rule published in the Federal Register, the department argued that the decline in immigrant labor will “exacerbate [an] already pressing mismatch in the agricultural labor market and deprive growers of a relatively cheaper labor supply on which they have become economically reliant.” The report claims that, even with rising wages, “there is no indication that unemployed or marginally attached U.S. workers are entering the agricultural labor force in meaningful numbers.”

In short, the Labor Department says farmers could face trouble harvesting crops without immigrant labor. “Without swift action, agricultural employers will be unable to maintain operations, and the nation’s food supply will be at risk,” the rule reads.

The department proposed lowering pay rates for seasonal agricultural workers with H-2A visas to stabilize the market and keep farms running. Roughly one in five U.S. agricultural workers currently hold these visas, which allow foreign laborers to work in the United States temporarily.

The White House pushed back on the department’s warnings, defending the administration’s decision to enforce immigration law and reform the nation’s broken visa system. “Our immigration system has been broken for decades, and we finally have a President who is enforcing the law and prioritizing fixing programs farmers and ranchers rely on to produce the safest and most productive food supply in the world,” a senior White House official told The Hill.

Food prices have been climbing between 0.2 and 0.4 percent each month since January, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The Agriculture Department, led by Secretary Brooke Rollins, has suggested that tariff revenue could be used to help offset higher farm costs.

Rollins said last month, “We are working with our colleagues in Congress and closely monitoring markets daily to evaluate the amount of additional assistance that might be needed this fall.”

The administration maintains that restoring law and order at the border — while supporting lawful pathways for workers — is key to ensuring the long-term stability of America’s food supply and economic security.