Republicans trust whatever Trump decides on farmworker raids

Senate Republicans were broadly supportive of the Trump administration s shift away from immigration raids on farm and hospitality workers When the administration reversed syllabus they noted they were OK with that too President Donald Trump has shifted back and forth on deportation efforts over the past week His administration carried out raids on farms and hotels prompting backlash from the industries He reported he d create a carve-out Immigration agents largely paused those raids After a record Monday evening that the raids were back on several Senate Republicans acknowledged the situation had been confusing But overall they noted they trusted the president and his deputies on immigration program We re taking out the illegals That s what we re doing President Trump s made that very clear Sen Markwayne Mullin mentioned Tuesday The day before ahead of the news that raids on farms and hotels would continue Mullin mentioned he was good with exemptions for agriculture and hospitality workers The president understands the need of the workforce as good as any president we ve ever had he added Trump mentioned his administration would carry out the largest deportation effort in U S history In an effort to boost deportation numbers Immigration and Customs Enforcement has increasingly targeted workplaces conducting raids in industries like agriculture that hire large numbers of undocumented workers which have led to arrests of people without criminal records Meanwhile administration representatives have revealed that asylum seekers with criminal records are the priority Senate Republicans declared that demarcation czar Tom Homan notified them as much last week Sen John Hoeven a member of the Senate agriculture committee reported Monday that since the administration was prioritizing the deportation of criminals decentering agriculture or hospitality workers would be a continuation of exactly what Homan is saying Look we re focused first and foremost on people with a criminal record The next day after the administration reversed its guidance on farms and hotels Hoeven commented he needed more information but still trusted that the president was focused on crime We need selected more information from the president on how he intends to approach farm workers Hoeven reported I know that as Tom Homan mentioned that the focus is on finding people with criminal records so I know that s clearly the president s intent as well Particular lawmakers acknowledged that the flip has been confusing I think that they should concentrate on the people that are here illegally that have committed crimes but again right now the strategy is up in the air Sen John Boozman stated NOTUS on Tuesday It s hard to comment on something that you don t really know what they re planning exactly on doing I m not going to comment on it till he eventually decides the senator explained The Trump administration has since reported that aggressive immigration enforcement will continue and argued that the president s comments last week weren t meant to indicate that certain industries would be shielded Just like President Trump promised we will deliver the single largest Mass Deportation Venture in history by expanding our efforts in the epicenters of illegal immigration dangerous Democrat run sanctuary cities a White House official noted in a message President Trump remains committed to enforcing federal immigration law anyone present in the United States illegally is at menace of deportation The Department of Homeland Guard the agency responsible for implementing the president s immigration directives hasn t mentioned much other than that it will follow orders We will follow the President s direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America s streets Tricia McLaughlin DHS assistant secretary declared in a comment This story was produced as part of a partnership between NOTUS a publication from the nonprofit nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute and NEWSWELL home of Times of San Diego Santa Barbara News-Press and Stocktonia