I strongly support President Trump. I appreciate his efforts to secure the borders, restore national sovereignty, and invigorate the American economy.
However, the recent decisions by the Department of Homeland Security—especially the restrictions on workplace enforcement—have raised some concerns. For instance, they’ve seemingly halted immigration and customs raids that primarily target agricultural employers. This feels like a way to protect corporate giants while neglecting rural communities that are struggling.
If DHS and USDA genuinely want to improve farming, they need to stop using the term “farmer” to refer to corporate entities. This shift in policy isn’t intended to support small producers or “peasants.” Instead, it seems to favor large, foreign-owned agricultural firms like JB and other multinational corporations, who benefit from cheap labor, government subsidies, and a tight grip on the supply chain.
It’s these very corporations that have led to the decline of independent family farms across the nation.
The Biden administration appears to be giving these big agricultural entities a free pass. Is Trump really okay with this development?
Legally hire and prosper
There’s actually no need to employ illegal workers to run successful farms and ranches. The top players in the business demonstrate this quite well.
Take a look at White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Georgia, or Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia. They are not just idealistic examples; they showcase real businesses operating successfully with legal labor and strong local ties, and they optimize visa programs when needed.
They don’t rely heavily on illegal labor and, crucially, they create genuine jobs that pay fair wages and breathe life into their communities.
Will Harris, for example, is Bluffton’s biggest employer—not because he exploits labor, but because he enriches the land, builds up the community, and promotes food independence.
This is more aligned with what a golden age of American agriculture should look like.
Big Ag free pass
With the current policy, DHS is essentially providing corporate leniency to companies like Tyson, Smithfield, JBS, and Cargill. These corporations depend on cheap, often illegal labor to sustain their bloated, centralized structures.
We’ve seen similar patterns before. Remember Ronald Reagan’s 1986 amnesty? It promised future enforcement that never actually materialized.
And here we are, making the same mistakes again.
This new policy seems to uphold failed systems like:
- Top-down corporate control
- Large-scale integration
- Exploitation and debt
- Open border policies
- Subminimum wage labor
- Legal loopholes benefiting billion-dollar corporations
As journalist Christopher Leonard has pointed out, our food system often treats workers like commodities instead of individuals deserving respect.
The USDA’s loyalty to these monopolies has already devastated towns, evicted families from their land, and transformed our food supply into a global pipeline, jeopardizing home-grown food production.
This isn’t doing America any favors. It serves only to facilitate the interests of large agribusinesses that can be quite questionable.
Whether we accept this or not, this aligns with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, subtly promoted through broken farms, outsourced jobs, and illegal employment.
This issue is not solely about agriculture; it touches on national security too.
A nation that can’t feed itself without disregarding its laws isn’t truly sovereign. Allowing multinational companies to exploit the Heartland while relying on production in cartel-run regions is a troubling trajectory.
We can do better
If the DHS and USDA want actual improvements in farming, they need to stop hiding behind the word “farmer” when they’re really discussing corporate intermediaries.
Trump has an opportunity to steer in a different direction—one that genuinely puts Americans first. This approach would prioritize those who follow the law, who hire legal or citizen workers, and who create food systems that promote independence rather than reliance.
Independent farmers and ranchers are eager to help. They already showcase successful models based on strong property rights, legal labor, access to fair resources, and a commitment to their communities.
This isn’t just a wish list. It’s happening right now.
And it’s working.
Let’s not revert our food and our future back to the monopolies that caused so many issues in the past.
