In the first 100 days under the Trump Administration, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has aligned her department's policies with the America First agenda, focusing on immigration and support for U.S. agriculture at the border. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been tasked with enforcing measures to prevent illegal immigrants from accessing federal benefits, providing aid to farmers and ranchers at the southern border, and holding Mexico accountable in accordance with existing agreements with the United States.
“President Trump has reversed the status quo on immigration policy. He is fighting to secure the border and hold countries like Mexico accountable for years of mistreatment against the United States," Secretary Rollins stated. "Farmers and ranchers along the southern border have been on the frontlines of Mexico’s unfair policies, and at USDA, I have been at the negotiating table tirelessly advocating for American agriculture. I am putting Farmers First—not illegal immigrants,” she added.
Secretary Rollins has directed Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, John Walk, to issue guidance instructing State agencies to ensure that illegal immigrants do not receive federal benefits. This move includes implementing stronger identity and immigration verification for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The steps are part of the efforts to comply with President Trump’s Executive Order 14218, aimed at ending taxpayer support of open borders.
