A group of Trump allies has unveiled a plan for mass deportations, focusing on workplace enforcement. This strategy may alienate key supporters in industries reliant on undocumented labor.
Key points
Trump allies propose largest deportation push in U.S. history
Plan focuses on workplace enforcement as a key strategy
Could alienate supporters in agriculture and construction
Voter views on Trump's immigration policies have turned negative
Mentioned in this story
Mass Deportation CoalitionDonald TrumpDwight D. Eisenhower
A group of President Donald Trump’s MAGA allies released a playbook Wednesday to fulfill the largest deportation push in U.S. history. It could very well split Trump’s coalition.
The plan from the Mass Deportation Coalition — an organization led by some prominent Trumpworld veterans, immigration restrictionist groups and hawkish policy experts — rests on one crucial pillar: A major immigration enforcement crackdown on workplaces, modeling the strategy that former President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s administration used to deliver the nation’s largest deportation initiative in history.
“There is no chance for a mass deportation program if worksite enforcement is not the centerpiece,” the playbook, shared first with POLITICO, reads. “Enforcement at scale means focusing on physical areas where illegal aliens are concentrated: worksites.”
That strategy almost certainly promises to alienate some of the Trump administration’s allies in the agriculture, construction and hospitality industries, which all rely heavily on undocumented labor. Farm groups in particular hold significant sway in Trump’s Washington and have already shown prowess in steering the administration away from worksite enforcement when those efforts disrupted the industry.
Worksite raids could also prove deeply unpopular with voters, whose views have turned increasingly negative toward Trump on immigration and seemingly forced the administration to ramp down its deportation push.
The release of the group’s playbook — which also offers recommendations from digitizing the employment verification process to barring unauthorized immigrants from accessing credit — comes as the Trump administration enters a new stage of internal immigration enforcement.
In the months since an immigration surge in Minneapolis left two U.S. citizens dead, the administration pivoted its message on mass deportations while overhauling its leadership at the Department of Homeland Security. Border czar Tom Homan replaced Customs and Border Protection chief Greg Bovino in Minneapolis and drew down the immigration enforcement presence in the city; the president and tapped then-Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to replace her; and found that references to “mass deportations” sharply decreased in March.
Q&A
What is the new mass deportation plan proposed by Trump's allies?
The plan involves a major crackdown on workplaces to enforce immigration laws, modeled after Eisenhower's deportation initiative.
How could the mass deportation strategy affect Trump's coalition?
The strategy may split Trump's coalition, particularly alienating allies in agriculture, construction, and hospitality who depend on undocumented workers.
What industries might be impacted by the workplace enforcement focus?
Industries such as agriculture, construction, and hospitality could be significantly affected due to their reliance on undocumented labor.
How have voters reacted to Trump's immigration policies recently?
Voter sentiment has turned increasingly negative towards Trump on immigration, which has pressured his administration to reduce deportation efforts.
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In a statement, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson denied that the White House has shifted its deportation approach.
“Nobody is changing the Administration’s immigration enforcement agenda,” she said in a statement. “President Trump’s highest priority has always been the deportation of illegal alien criminals who endanger American communities. As the Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly said, approximately 70 percent of deportations to date have been illegal aliens with criminal records.”
Still, the Mass Deportation Coalition is trying to push the White House back toward a more aggressive immigration approach. Its members include Mark Morgan, the former acting commissioner of CBP under Trump; Erik Prince, a Trump ally and former Blackwater CEO who has pitched the White House on privatizing immigration detention operations; and a number of conservative organizations like the Heritage Foundation.
The group commissioned a poll last month by McLaughlin & Associates, one of Trump’s pollsters, that found a majority of likely U.S. voters support deporting all migrants who entered the country illegally. The poll also found that 70 percent of likely voters support “strengthening workplace immigration enforcement to help raise wages for American workers.”
However, those results differ drastically from other recent polling on immigration, like a January POLITICO poll amid the Minneapolis surge which found that nearly half of U.S. adults say Trump’s mass deportation campaign was too aggressive, including 1 in 5 of his 2024 voters.
“Special interests and industry have been able to operate in the shadows, and to lean on lawmakers and administration officials,” said Mike Howell, president of the Oversight Project and a member of the Mass Deportation Coalition. “We're taking that fight public, and we don't think that they're well situated to win that fight, because their arguments don't sell with the American people.”
The group’s stated goal of 1 million deportations in 2026 mirrors a private goal among White House officials, the Washington Post reported last year. It would mark a significant uptick in apprehensions: The Department of Homeland Security said it deported just over 600,000 individuals in 2025, though independent analyses put the number lower.
A DHS spokesperson said 3 million unauthorized immigrants left the U.S. during Trump's first year back in office and noted the agency is still targeting worksites — but they didn't directly respond to the Mass Deportation Coalition's plan.
“Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to protect public safety, national security, and economic stability while rescuing individuals who may be victims of labor trafficking or exploitation," the spokesperson said. "These operations target illegal employment networks that undermine American workers, destabilize labor markets, and threaten American communities."
“The president made clear where he stands on the issue, and made clear how he wants to see the policy enforced,” said John Hollay, president of the National Council of Agricultural Employers. “If [immigration raids] were to occur again on farm operations, that’s going to disrupt the food supply chain, and we’ve made that very clear. We know the president is committed to ensuring our food supply chain is not disrupted and that prices at the grocery store are not raised unnecessarily.”
