President Donald Trump’s mass deportation program has faced intense backlash from progressives and Democrats but, over the past week, the president’s immigration policy has also caused concern and consternation among his base. Last week, Trump suggested that illegal immigrants taking American jobs at farms and hotels may be exempt from deportation mandates.

“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. He added, “We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”

The president doubled down on the position — a clear reversal of his previous statements on illegal immigration, mass deportations, and American jobs — in a subsequent press conference, floating the possibility of an executive order to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants working in the agriculture and hotel industries. “Farmers are being hurt badly. You know, they have very good workers who have worked for them for 20 years. They’re not citizens, but they’ve turned out to be great, and we’re going to have to do something about that,” he said. Trump added, “We can’t take farmers and take all their people and send them back…”

On Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) instructed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to pause immigration raids targeting farms and hotels, outraging even some of Trump’s staunchest supporters. The decision followed a discussion Trump had with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins and was apparently made without consulting immigration hard-liners in the administration, like border czar Tom Homan and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who is credited with largely devising the president’s immigration agenda.

Conservative commentators quickly began voicing opposition to the policy shift. “Mass deportations to save the country unless a business using slave labor to undercut American wages complains,” quipped columnist Auron MacIntyre, adding, “Then you just throw the whole country out the window.” Daily Wire personality Matt Walsh posted, “Employers who knowingly rely on illegal immigrant labor should be in prison. Instead we’re going to back off of immigration enforcement for their sake? Hell no. We can’t tolerate this.”

Podcast host Jesse Kelly stated, “If Trump hands out amnesty to a bunch of illegals because his big business buddies have been blowing up his phone, it will stain his legacy forever.” Ultra Right Beer CEO Seth Weathers wrote, “These great, hardworking, illegals working for farmers that Trump is talking about, destroy every farm community they move into. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.” He detailed, “Little country homes that used to have well maintained yards that were always freshly cut, are half over-grown and half dirt. The house is falling apart. Every local store and gas station is filthy… They dump trash everywhere. They RUIN local school systems.” Weathers stressed, “I don’t care about cheap tomatoes. I’d rather not be a third world country. Deport them all.”

Numerous studies over the years have demonstrated that increased illegal immigrant participation in the U.S. workforce significantly reduces wages for American workers, especially in low-skill occupations, and drains the U.S. economy. Recent reports have shown that most U.S. job growth has gone to illegal immigrants. Andrew Arthur of the Center for Immigration Studies recently noted that the removal of illegal immigrants from the workforce has yielded increased wages for American workers.

Following the widespread backlash against Trump’s possible immigration policy reversal, the White House lifted the pause on ICE operations targeting farms and hotels. According to The Washington Post, the pause was initially issued by the DHS based on the president’s comments but without explicit support from the White House and was lifted in a Monday morning conference call with ICE leadership after Trump, advised by Miller and other immigration hawks in the administration, decided against the policy.

In an interview Monday, Trump’s border czar explained that the administration is “prioritizing public safety threats and national security threats” before moving on to workplace raids. “When it comes to worksites, we prioritize those operations too. Many places, we will target the worksite enforcement operations,” Homan said. He continued, “It’s gonna have to do with forced labor trafficking, sex trafficking, and criminal investigations where they’re not paying taxes, there’s tax evasion, or they’re funding cartel activity.” Homan assured the public that workplace immigration enforcement will come, but violent criminals remain the current focus for ICE. “We prioritize worksite investigation, too. We’ll prioritize them like we do everything else, but worksite enforcement operations — it’s a tenet of what we’re doing,” he said.

The Trump administration’s course correction has been widely praised by conservatives. Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, said in comments to The Washington Stand, “Candidate Trump ran on mass deportations. Americans overwhelmingly voted for them and continue to support them.” Citing Homan, Ries said, “All deportable aliens are subject to deportation. No one is off the table. Likewise, no industry should be exempt from ICE enforcing our immigration laws.” She continued, “For decades, certain industries have relied on a model of illegality and exploitation while claiming ‘There aren’t enough Americans willing to do those jobs.’” Ries insisted, “It is past time to call their bluff, break these illegal business models, and give Americans and lawful immigrants real opportunities to apply for the jobs and to be hired.”

Walsh gave credit for the policy clarification to conservative social media accounts who voiced their concerns over the potential policy shift. “This is why it’s important to speak up and make your voice heard. The pushback from the base obviously played a major part in this reversal,” he said.