The shift suggests Trump's promise of mass deportations has limits if it threatens industries that rely on workers in the country illegally.

Trump’s efforts to constrain immigration during his first term played out in a similar fashion; by 2019, the unemployment rate had dropped to 3.5%, its lowest level since 1969, with earnings up 3.5% from 2018. Meanwhile, economic growth slowed to 2.3%, down from 2.9% the year prior, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Immigration enforcement operations targeting worksites have led to arrests and deportations of workers across the country. Some of the people caught up in the raids have been working in the U.S. for years.