Trump suggests farmers could petition to keep workers without legal status

April 10 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday that farmers will be able to petition the federal government to retain some farmworkers in the U.S. illegally, provided the workers leave the country and return with legal status.

Trump's comments during his Cabinet meeting are, though vague, the most detail the administration has provided on the fate of the nation's farmworkers without legal status - who make up half the farm sector's workforce - under his plan for mass deportations.

Farm industry groups have warned that deporting large numbers of agricultural workers would grind the food system to a halt. In addition to farming, many workers without legal status are also employed in the meat and dairy industries.

"We're going to work with farmers that, if they have strong recommendations for their farms, for certain people, that we're going to let them stay in for a while and work with the farmers and then come back and go through a process, a legal process. We have to take care of our farmers and hotels and various places where they need the ...
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