/3 Trump campaigned on a promise to deport millions of immigrants working in the U.S. illegally. He has said he is focusing deportation efforts on “dangerous criminals,” but most people detained by ICE have no criminal convictions. At the same time, the number of illegal
/4 border crossings has plunged under his policies. ‘Crops did go to waste’ Just across the border from Mexico in McAllen, Texas, corn and cotton fields are about ready for harvesting. Elizabeth Rodriguez worries there won’t be enough workers available for the gins and
/5 other machinery once the fields are cleared. Immigration enforcement actions at farms, businesses and construction sites brought everything to a standstill, said Rodriguez, director of farmworker advocacy for the National Farmworker Ministry. “In May, during the peak of our watermelon and
/6 cantaloupe season, it delayed it. A lot of crops did go to waste,” she said. Kramer, with Pew, also warns about the potential impact on health care. She says immigrants make up about 43 per cent of home health care aides.