Tough 2025 Immigration Policies Are Raising Labor Costs and Creating Shortages Across Oregon

While major outlets recap 2025’s strict enforcement, including reducing foreign-born populations, Oregon’s agriculture and construction industries, which rely heavily on immigrant labor, are already experiencing labor shortages, higher costs, and increased strain on local support services amid family separations.

Labor Costs Highlighted As Trump Administration Moves To Tighten Immigration Crackdown Through More Workplace Raids

News outlets like Reuters are predicting that 2025’s strict enforcement, including travel bans, parole pauses, and deportations, will reduce the number of foreign-born workers in sectors like healthcare and agriculture, and in small towns, evoking comparisons to historical restrictions, affecting the labor market, and increasing costs.

Yet Trump is preparing a more aggressive immigration crackdown with plans that he says “absolutely include more workplace enforcement.” Plans to increase workplace raids are being made despite the political risks ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

Trump’s approval rating has already plummeted amid aggressive immigration tactics this year.

Immigration agents have already surged into major U.S. cities, where they swept through neighborhoods and clashed with residents.

While the focus was on high-profile business raids and farms, factories, and other economically significant businesses, those that employed immigrants without legal status were largely avoided.

With ICE and Border Patrol set to receive a $170 billion funding boost after the Republican-controlled Congress passed a massive spending package in July, Administration officials say they plan to hire thousands more agents, open new detention centers, pick up more immigrants in local jails, and partner with outside companies to track down people without legal status.

Trump Immigration Raids Could Hit Oregon Growers Hard

Oregon agriculture (e.g., Willamette Valley berries, hazelnuts, and vineyards) and construction industries rely heavily on immigrant labor.

The Trump policies have led to reported shortages, higher costs for producers in rural areas like Woodburn and Ontario (home to large Latino communities), and increased strain on local support services amid family separations.

A migrant farmworker healthcare website estimates there are about 174,000 migrant and seasonal farmworkers in Oregon, and an Oregon Center for Public Policy report suggests nearly one-third of those workers (about 57,000 people) may be undocumented.

Despite immigration raids being stepped up, many undocumented workers continue to show up in Oregon’s fields and orchards to make a living.

An Oregon pear grower says growers are transitioning to H-2A and calls it “essential,” but it comes at a cost. The Association said, “Our wage rates are pushed up too high. Our housing requirements are too difficult.” Also: “Our fruit would be falling on the ground if we didn’t have H-2A workers.”

For growers shifting to H-2A, these are the required minimum hourly wage rates: