The policy of deportations and toughening requirements for legal migration to the United States will end up being a real “shot in the foot” for the agricultural sector of the US economy. Indeed, the different stages of that country’s food system are dominated by immigrants. Currently, there is no agricultural subsector that is not affected by labor shortages, as recognized by various producer organizations, as well as Department of Labor statistics. Likewise, data show that immigrants from Latin America represent the vast majority of the agricultural workforce: in recent years, seven out of 10 harvest workers were born in Latin countries and about 42% work without legal authorization.
Contradictorily, agriculture-dependent counties overwhelmingly supported Trump in the presidential election and many local authorities are now being forced to cooperate with federal immigration authorities to deport undocumented immigrants.
A recent report by Rolling Stone magazine (September 2025) reviews the above and takes as an example the most American thing there is for Americans: the popular hamburger. In the country, nearly 50,000 million hamburgers are consumed per year, equivalent to a weekly consumption of three hamburgers per inhabitant. Behind it is a large system that extends over thousands of kilometers and involves millions of immigrants to produce the basic components of that popular food: beef, lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese and bread roll.
The hamburger exemplifies how dependent American agriculture is on the immigrants who produce onions in Idaho, lettuce in Arizona, meat in Kansas, cheese in industrial plants in Wisconsin, tomatoes in California and bread in bakeries distributed throughout the country.
For example, one of the largest onion producers in the country (Myers) runs its operation across 1,600 acres and 75% of its workers are immigrants. “If they leave, there simply won’t be people who want to do that kind of work.”
Wisconsin dairy farms provide inputs for cheesemaking throughout the country. A 2023 study indicated that 70% of workers in the state’s dairy industry were undocumented. It was a situation that was tolerated and understood, but now, with Trump’s policies, they have become unacceptable. It is estimated that more than 85% of the workforce in the Kansas beef industry has irregular or undocumented status. For the Cattlemen’s Association the dilemma is clear: import more workers or import more meat. In the food processing industry, immigrants represent 34% of the workforce in large-scale baking plants supplying buns to fast food stores and large chains.
If we consider that there are no tariffs on these agricultural and manufacturing goods, given that they are marketed in the USMCA, then, given Trump’s absurd immigration policy, this is a good opportunity for Mexican producers and companies to export hamburger ingredients to the United States.
