Trump Wants to Replace Migrant Farmworkers with Robots and Medicaid Recipients, Says Agriculture Secretary [Video]

The Trump administration is under fire for a plan that could reshape how America feeds itself—and who’s doing the work behind the scenes.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins made headlines this week after suggesting that Medicaid recipients and automation could replace immigrant farmworkers, as Trump’s aggressive crackdown on immigration continues to rattle the agricultural industry.

“There’s been a lot of noise about where the President stands on farm labor,” Rollins told reporters during a press event with Republican governors. “The answer lies in automation, reforming the system, and utilizing the 34 million able-bodied adults currently on Medicaid.”

This all comes as part of Trump’s recently signed tax and spending bill, which for the first time imposes federal work requirements for Medicaid recipients. That means millions who rely on the program may need to get jobs to keep their healthcare—whether they’re physically up for it or not.

Historically, Medicaid has served vulnerable groups like low-income mothers, children, seniors, and people with disabilities. But under Obama’s Affordable Care Act, states were allowed to expand the program to include more working-class Americans. Today, 40 states and D.C. provide Medicaid to those earning up to 138% of the federal poverty line—roughly $20,700 for a single person or $43,000 for a family of four.

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The new rules mean some of those people may soon be expected to fill in where migrant labor is missing—especially on farms. But critics warn that many Medicaid recipients are already working low-wage jobs or are physically unable to work.

Farmers have long depended on migrant labor to harvest crops, a workforce that’s now in jeopardy due to Trump’s hardline immigration stance. With fewer workers available, crops are already being left in fields, and food prices could rise.
The administration’s solution? More robots, fewer immigrants, and a push to get Medicaid recipients into the labor force. Whether or not that plan actually works—or is even realistic—is still a hot debate.