Kona Coffee Farmers Have Been Spared From ICE Raids… For Now – CoffeeTalk

Kona coffee farmers have been reportedly spared from federal immigration enforcement, including rapid policy changes over the last few days. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have stepped up arrests of immigrant workers to fulfill one of the president’s campaign promises. Over the last few months, raids and arrests have taken place in Hawaiʻi as well, and local farmers worry that their operations and workers will be impacted. However, local farms have not been hit just yet, as there is no evidence of policing or raiding. This is due to the lack of labor in local coffee fields, as the coffee harvest season starts in August and runs through March.

The relative absence of ICE has spared local coffee farmers from abrupt changes following President Donald Trump’s recent back-and-forth on his immigration policies. Last week, the president announced that “changes are coming” to ICE enforcement, following an order to exempt hotel, restaurant, and farm workers from immigration raids and arrests. However, today, he backtracked again, saying that all undocumented immigrants could be targeted for arrest and deportation.

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