By LISA RATHKE
Bennington Banner
Monday September 5, 2011
MONTPELIER (AP) -- A federal program intended to identify and deport illegal immigrants is raising fears in Vermont, where Mexican farmhands, many without immigration papers, are a staple of the $560 million dairy industry.
Opponents say aggressive enforcement of the Secure Communities initiative could harm the state's struggling dairy industry and turn many of the 1,200 to 1,500 migrant workers into prisoners of the farms where they work, afraid to venture out because it could lead to arrest and deportation.
"It's not going to do us any good. It can only do us potential harm," said Clark Hinsdale, a dairy farmer and president of the Vermont Farm Bureau.
The program requires state and local law enforcement officials to send criminal suspects' fingerprints to the FBI, where they are run through a database to determine the person's immigration status.
Massachusetts and Illinois are among a handful of states that have defied a U.S. Homeland Security mandate to participate in the program, saying they should not be required to enforce federal laws.
Advocates for the workers say it hurts public safety because immigrants will be afraid to report crimes to police out of fear of deportation.
Over Lopez, 21, has gathered 70 signatures from fellow farm workers who want Vermont to reject the program. The VT Migrant Farmworker Solidarity Project also is seeking signatures from farmers and the public.
"I also want the people of Vermont, the governor and Vermont representatives to tell Obama to fulfill his unfulfilled promises to the Latino community that helped elect him by stopping this unjust program that is tearing apart our communities and work for comprehensive and just immigration reform," he said in a written statement.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said last week that the department would focus on deporting illegal immigrants who are criminals or pose a threat to national security or public safety. The move came amid protests from immigrant communities that the Obama administration is too centered on deporting illegal immigrants who have no prior offense or who have been picked up for traffic violations or other minor offenses.
The Department of Homeland Security says Secure Communities is an information sharing program that is focused on criminal offenders.
Between October 2008 and October 2010, the number of convicted criminals that Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed from the United States increased 71 percent, while the number of immigrants removed without criminal convictions dropped by 23 percent. The Secure Communities program is an attributing factor, the department said.
The program is a basic component of immigration enforcement, said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, which supports it and advocates for tougher immigration laws.
He said the program targets people who've already been arrested for a crime.
"This is not stopping people while they're taking their kids to the ice cream store and asking for their driver's license like the Arizona law opponents were saying," he said. "This is people arrested, booked, their fingerprints are taken."
Some local police agencies in Vermont have taken a hands-off approach, focusing on criminal activity and not immigration status.
"What it means is that they're supposed to be pursuing a federal priority which may be a federal priority in Arizona but it's not a priority in Vermont," Hinsdale said of the federal program.
Many farmers struggle to find workers in rural areas to milk cows and do other hard work and have come to rely on farm workers from Mexico. Because their business is year-round, dairy farms aren't eligible for foreign workers under the H2A temporary visa worker programs used by crop farmers, although Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy has pushed for a change.
"These workers are quality workers, they're valued and they're liked in the farm community," Hinsdale said.
But state Sen. Vincent Illuzzi, who represents the farming community of Orleans County, said he's heard complaints from workers who said they were laid off because a farm wanted to hire less expensive Mexican workers.
Leahy thinks the initiative in practice captures more immigrants than the criminals it purports to target, resulting in a significant number of people with low-level prior offenses being put into deportation proceedings, Carle said.
"In Vermont who this would affect are some of the hardest working people working in some of our most core industries -- like our dairy industry -- and many of our other agriculture industries, and so we think it's a flawed program that should be stopped, and we need real immigration reform," said James Haslam, executive director of the Vermont Workers' Center.
http://www.benningtonbanner.com/business/ci_18831834
Showing posts with label Expulsions in VT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Expulsions in VT. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Farmers: Immigration reform needed for ag workers
By LISA RATHKE
Associated Press
May 9, 2010
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Even during the recession, foreign workers harvested vegetables, milked cows and picked apples on many U.S. farms, doing work that farmers say Americans don't want to do.
Most Americans shy away from jobs such as hand-picking tomatoes or cutting cabbage because the work is seasonal, physically tough, out in the elements and often in remote areas, farmers say. To get the jobs done, many farmers hire foreign workers, including some who are illegal, and they say a crackdown on illegal immigration combined with changes to a visa program for temporary workers could make it even harder for them to find reliable employees.
Farmers want Congress to pass an "AgJobs" bill that would enable those who have worked in U.S. agriculture for at least 150 days in the previous two years to get some kind of legal status. They also say the visa program for temporary workers needs to be simplified. Without those changes, some farmers say they may have to cut back production because of a shortage of reliable labor.
Jim Bittner, who relies largely on migrant workers originally from Mexico, said he cut down a quarter of his cherry and peach trees at Singer Farms in Appleton, N.Y., in recent years because of competition from cheap fruit imports and a lack of workers to hand-pick the fruit.
"We can find tractor drivers, people who apply pesticide and truck drivers, but we can't find people to do the harvest," Bittner said.
California's Imperial Valley used to be a big asparagus producer, but the area planted with asparagus dropped from 786 acres in 2006 to 373 acres in 2008 partly because farms couldn't get enough workers to cut, sort and pack the vegetable — all of which must be done by hand, said Ayron Moiola, the executive director of the Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association.
"Asparagus in the Imperial Valley is an indicator as to what happens with crops that are labor intensive and what happens when labor becomes unfeasible economically and also just hard to find," she said.
The recession stemmed a flow of workers from farms to construction and other jobs. In 2006, before the economy collapsed, Washington state and its apple growers tried to recruit pickers to fill 1,700 jobs. They set up orientation and training sessions in six towns in eastern Washington and advertised them in newspapers and on the radio, but only 40 people showed up, and just 10 applied for jobs and were hired.
Washington officials say they seem to have enough workers this year, but as the job market slowly recovers, no one expects farmers' hiring to get easier.
"Nobody who is informed on this issue seriously contends that somehow some great societal shift is going to cause a whole bunch of Americans to go back into these jobs," said Craig Regelbrugge, vice president for government relations with the American Nursery and Landscape Association and co-chair of the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform.
More than half of the crop workers hired in the U.S. between 2005 and 2007 were in the country illegally, according to the federal government's National Agricultural Worker Survey.
Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for tougher immigration laws, thinks the problem is that farmers have become addicted to cheap, foreign labor and haven't been forced to raise wages to attract other workers or consider mechanization.
"No one has really thought about how to change the equation to try to break the cycle of what the growers say is need and what some economists say is really more want," she said.
Jake Guest employs about 20 local workers at his organic vegetable farm in Vermont, but he still relies on two Jamaican farmworkers to spend hours picking strawberries and weeding.
"The problem is that the kind of work that these guy do, people don't want to do it," he said.
But changes to the H2-A program have made it more complicated and costly to legally hire temporary workers, Guest said. The program can't be used to fill jobs that are considered year-round, such as milking on dairy farms.
In February, the U.S. Labor Department issued regulations to increase wages and job safety protections for temporary farm workers, reversing Bush-era changes that farm worker advocates said promoted cheap labor and undercut domestic hiring. The changes also require growers to do more to try to fill the jobs with American workers.
For Guest, it means he must advertise the jobs in Vermont, two neighboring states and either Florida or Texas, pay $1,000 for the Jamaicans' transportation to his Norwich farm, pay $120 in government fees for each and provide housing. The law requires Guest to pay the Jamaicans $10 an hour, and he can't pay domestic workers doing the same job less.
It's worth it to have skilled workers, he said.
"If you've got a sink drain that doesn't work, you don't hire a college student to fix it," Guest said. "You don't hire a painter. If you've got strawberries to pick, you hire a professional picker."
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j7ClwmqgaB_7gXAEpxwpxaMRSSwQD9FJQVH80
Associated Press
May 9, 2010
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Even during the recession, foreign workers harvested vegetables, milked cows and picked apples on many U.S. farms, doing work that farmers say Americans don't want to do.
Most Americans shy away from jobs such as hand-picking tomatoes or cutting cabbage because the work is seasonal, physically tough, out in the elements and often in remote areas, farmers say. To get the jobs done, many farmers hire foreign workers, including some who are illegal, and they say a crackdown on illegal immigration combined with changes to a visa program for temporary workers could make it even harder for them to find reliable employees.
Farmers want Congress to pass an "AgJobs" bill that would enable those who have worked in U.S. agriculture for at least 150 days in the previous two years to get some kind of legal status. They also say the visa program for temporary workers needs to be simplified. Without those changes, some farmers say they may have to cut back production because of a shortage of reliable labor.
Jim Bittner, who relies largely on migrant workers originally from Mexico, said he cut down a quarter of his cherry and peach trees at Singer Farms in Appleton, N.Y., in recent years because of competition from cheap fruit imports and a lack of workers to hand-pick the fruit.
"We can find tractor drivers, people who apply pesticide and truck drivers, but we can't find people to do the harvest," Bittner said.
California's Imperial Valley used to be a big asparagus producer, but the area planted with asparagus dropped from 786 acres in 2006 to 373 acres in 2008 partly because farms couldn't get enough workers to cut, sort and pack the vegetable — all of which must be done by hand, said Ayron Moiola, the executive director of the Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association.
"Asparagus in the Imperial Valley is an indicator as to what happens with crops that are labor intensive and what happens when labor becomes unfeasible economically and also just hard to find," she said.
The recession stemmed a flow of workers from farms to construction and other jobs. In 2006, before the economy collapsed, Washington state and its apple growers tried to recruit pickers to fill 1,700 jobs. They set up orientation and training sessions in six towns in eastern Washington and advertised them in newspapers and on the radio, but only 40 people showed up, and just 10 applied for jobs and were hired.
Washington officials say they seem to have enough workers this year, but as the job market slowly recovers, no one expects farmers' hiring to get easier.
"Nobody who is informed on this issue seriously contends that somehow some great societal shift is going to cause a whole bunch of Americans to go back into these jobs," said Craig Regelbrugge, vice president for government relations with the American Nursery and Landscape Association and co-chair of the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform.
More than half of the crop workers hired in the U.S. between 2005 and 2007 were in the country illegally, according to the federal government's National Agricultural Worker Survey.
Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for tougher immigration laws, thinks the problem is that farmers have become addicted to cheap, foreign labor and haven't been forced to raise wages to attract other workers or consider mechanization.
"No one has really thought about how to change the equation to try to break the cycle of what the growers say is need and what some economists say is really more want," she said.
Jake Guest employs about 20 local workers at his organic vegetable farm in Vermont, but he still relies on two Jamaican farmworkers to spend hours picking strawberries and weeding.
"The problem is that the kind of work that these guy do, people don't want to do it," he said.
But changes to the H2-A program have made it more complicated and costly to legally hire temporary workers, Guest said. The program can't be used to fill jobs that are considered year-round, such as milking on dairy farms.
In February, the U.S. Labor Department issued regulations to increase wages and job safety protections for temporary farm workers, reversing Bush-era changes that farm worker advocates said promoted cheap labor and undercut domestic hiring. The changes also require growers to do more to try to fill the jobs with American workers.
For Guest, it means he must advertise the jobs in Vermont, two neighboring states and either Florida or Texas, pay $1,000 for the Jamaicans' transportation to his Norwich farm, pay $120 in government fees for each and provide housing. The law requires Guest to pay the Jamaicans $10 an hour, and he can't pay domestic workers doing the same job less.
It's worth it to have skilled workers, he said.
"If you've got a sink drain that doesn't work, you don't hire a college student to fix it," Guest said. "You don't hire a painter. If you've got strawberries to pick, you hire a professional picker."
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j7ClwmqgaB_7gXAEpxwpxaMRSSwQD9FJQVH80
Friday, November 27, 2009
FOREIGNERS ON THE FARM, PART 3: How Police Deal with Illegal Workers
By Kristin Carlson - WCAX News
Sheldon, Vermont
November 20, 2008
At the Green Mountain Dairy Farm in Sheldon they milk 900 cows almost around the clock.
"We've farmed all of our life and my brother and I are trying to set this farm up for the next generation," farmer Bill Rowell explains.
It takes 18 employees to keep the farm going... three are Hispanic.
"Do we need Mexican labor to run our farms in Vermont? Yes we do," Bill says.
The farm is just miles from the Canadian border. The Rowell Brothers say they only hire workers with documents.
Brian Rowell says, "We're always concerned there because even though we feel we've got everything checked out you know we're not an official and do we know how to check things out properly?"
Having Border Patrol so close by also worries some of the migrant workers.
"They're not scared of police, they're scared of immigration getting them and deporting them back to Mexico," says Saul Moreno, one of the farm workers.
Reporter Kristin Carlson: Because they don't have the papers you have?
Saul: Yes, they don't have them.
Saul Moreno has a green card and has lived in Vermont for about 12 years, but his co-worker didn't want his face shown.
"If I was them I would be scared too," Saul says.
The Rowells have never had trouble with Border Patrol. But nearby farms have had workers deported.
"When you're milking roughly 1,000 cows and you are relying on that help and tomorrow morning they're not here-- that puts you in quite a predicament," Brian Rowell says.
"It is illegal and probably should not be done," says Brian Savage, a newly elected State Representative from the border town of Swanton.
Farmers are one of his main constituents and as a law and order conservative he struggles with this issue. He hears from farmers who say they need workers but also says breaking the law should not be part of any business.
"The biggest concern-- it's not a concern while they are on the farms-- is if they should leave the farm and just go someplace and we don't know where they are going," Savage explains.
"We pay a lot of attention to Vermont," says Amparo Anguino, of the Mexican Consulate.
At the Mexican Consulate in Boston they are concerned about a federal crackdown in Vermont.
"This is my colleague Herman... he's in the legal department," Anguino says. "He's been going to Vermont for many years."
Amparo Anguino's office covers 5 states and of all of them, Vermont has the highest number of Mexicans arrested. For the first half of this year, 82 Mexicans were picked up-- more than triple that of Rhode Island, even though Rhode Island has nearly twice as many Mexicans living there.
"They stand out more easily so that may be one reason why," Anguino says.
Border Patrol says it's focused on the border not on Vermont farms. But Anguino says Immigration and Customs Enforcement does pay attention. There have not been many farm raids but workers are sometimes picked up when they go to town.
"And of course once detained the likelihood of being deported or voluntary departure is very high," Anguino explains.
"They're here, they're part of the community and we have to acknowledge that," says Chief Tom Hanley, of the Middlebury Police Dept.
Chief Hanley takes a different approach. The Chief says his officers won't detain undocumented workers unless they commit a crime.
"I can't arrest illegal immigrants anyway. I can request Border Patrol give us authorization to do a detainer on them and hold them until Border Patrol comes. But if they are not doing any kind of crime, that it doesn't rise to the level of our attention," Hanley says.
It was the first policy of its kind in the state and Hanley says it allows illegal workers to talk to police without fear of deportation.
Vt. State Police recently adopted a similar policy.
Carlson: Do you think your policy makes Middlebury safer?
"I think it does. I think it does give us a bigger pool of people who are willing to report crimes," Chief Hanley answers. "We can't have subcultures here. We can't have people living in the shadows. If you are going to be here in the community you should feel safe."
It's a complicated issue that's been difficult for Independent Senator Bernie Sanders.
"It's a sad thing. I'm not happy about it," Sanders says.
Sanders has built a career railing against companies using migrant labor and protecting jobs and wages of Vermonters. But he's changed his mind when it comes to dairy farms.
"I didn't always believe this, but Vermont farmers are telling me they're having a hard time-- virtually impossible-- to find good labor," Sanders says.
Visa programs exist for seasonal agriculture workers but not for dairy farm labor, where workers need to stay for two-to-three years to learn the job. Sanders is backing Sen. Patrick Leahy's plan for a guest worker program for dairy farms.
"I have concluded that in certain areas in agriculture migrant labor is very important. We need to make sure that people in this country are here legally are treated well, that they have rights, I am supportive of that," Sanders says.
The Rowell Brothers say a federal program would bring peace of mind to an industry trying to stay alive.
"This is a viable labor force and they're here," Bill Rowell says. "Hopefully we will address it."
Vermont's Congressional delegation supports a visa program to allow foreign workers to legally come to Vermont dairy farms for a few years. Senator Leahy has tried several times to pass that legislation, most recently this summer. Leahy's office hopes there will be a fresh attempt at solving this problem with the new Obama Administration.
Channel 3 has gotten a lot of feedback on this series. Some say these workers should be arrested and what the farmers are doing is wrong. But the majority of responses have been supportive, saying it's refreshing to see people willing to speak so candidly about this.
Mama Nancy-- who was featured in Part 2-- says she's gotten a big reaction with people saying they want to help the Mexicans in any way they can. And Rob Hunt-- the farmer also in Part 2 who admitted his workers were here illegally-- says farmers have contacted him and say they're willing to rally and protect him in case federal authorities raid his farm.
http://www.wcax.com/global/story.asp?s=9389178
Sheldon, Vermont
November 20, 2008
At the Green Mountain Dairy Farm in Sheldon they milk 900 cows almost around the clock.
"We've farmed all of our life and my brother and I are trying to set this farm up for the next generation," farmer Bill Rowell explains.
It takes 18 employees to keep the farm going... three are Hispanic.
"Do we need Mexican labor to run our farms in Vermont? Yes we do," Bill says.
The farm is just miles from the Canadian border. The Rowell Brothers say they only hire workers with documents.
Brian Rowell says, "We're always concerned there because even though we feel we've got everything checked out you know we're not an official and do we know how to check things out properly?"
Having Border Patrol so close by also worries some of the migrant workers.
"They're not scared of police, they're scared of immigration getting them and deporting them back to Mexico," says Saul Moreno, one of the farm workers.
Reporter Kristin Carlson: Because they don't have the papers you have?
Saul: Yes, they don't have them.
Saul Moreno has a green card and has lived in Vermont for about 12 years, but his co-worker didn't want his face shown.
"If I was them I would be scared too," Saul says.
The Rowells have never had trouble with Border Patrol. But nearby farms have had workers deported.
"When you're milking roughly 1,000 cows and you are relying on that help and tomorrow morning they're not here-- that puts you in quite a predicament," Brian Rowell says.
"It is illegal and probably should not be done," says Brian Savage, a newly elected State Representative from the border town of Swanton.
Farmers are one of his main constituents and as a law and order conservative he struggles with this issue. He hears from farmers who say they need workers but also says breaking the law should not be part of any business.
"The biggest concern-- it's not a concern while they are on the farms-- is if they should leave the farm and just go someplace and we don't know where they are going," Savage explains.
"We pay a lot of attention to Vermont," says Amparo Anguino, of the Mexican Consulate.
At the Mexican Consulate in Boston they are concerned about a federal crackdown in Vermont.
"This is my colleague Herman... he's in the legal department," Anguino says. "He's been going to Vermont for many years."
Amparo Anguino's office covers 5 states and of all of them, Vermont has the highest number of Mexicans arrested. For the first half of this year, 82 Mexicans were picked up-- more than triple that of Rhode Island, even though Rhode Island has nearly twice as many Mexicans living there.
"They stand out more easily so that may be one reason why," Anguino says.
Border Patrol says it's focused on the border not on Vermont farms. But Anguino says Immigration and Customs Enforcement does pay attention. There have not been many farm raids but workers are sometimes picked up when they go to town.
"And of course once detained the likelihood of being deported or voluntary departure is very high," Anguino explains.
"They're here, they're part of the community and we have to acknowledge that," says Chief Tom Hanley, of the Middlebury Police Dept.
Chief Hanley takes a different approach. The Chief says his officers won't detain undocumented workers unless they commit a crime.
"I can't arrest illegal immigrants anyway. I can request Border Patrol give us authorization to do a detainer on them and hold them until Border Patrol comes. But if they are not doing any kind of crime, that it doesn't rise to the level of our attention," Hanley says.
It was the first policy of its kind in the state and Hanley says it allows illegal workers to talk to police without fear of deportation.
Vt. State Police recently adopted a similar policy.
Carlson: Do you think your policy makes Middlebury safer?
"I think it does. I think it does give us a bigger pool of people who are willing to report crimes," Chief Hanley answers. "We can't have subcultures here. We can't have people living in the shadows. If you are going to be here in the community you should feel safe."
It's a complicated issue that's been difficult for Independent Senator Bernie Sanders.
"It's a sad thing. I'm not happy about it," Sanders says.
Sanders has built a career railing against companies using migrant labor and protecting jobs and wages of Vermonters. But he's changed his mind when it comes to dairy farms.
"I didn't always believe this, but Vermont farmers are telling me they're having a hard time-- virtually impossible-- to find good labor," Sanders says.
Visa programs exist for seasonal agriculture workers but not for dairy farm labor, where workers need to stay for two-to-three years to learn the job. Sanders is backing Sen. Patrick Leahy's plan for a guest worker program for dairy farms.
"I have concluded that in certain areas in agriculture migrant labor is very important. We need to make sure that people in this country are here legally are treated well, that they have rights, I am supportive of that," Sanders says.
The Rowell Brothers say a federal program would bring peace of mind to an industry trying to stay alive.
"This is a viable labor force and they're here," Bill Rowell says. "Hopefully we will address it."
Vermont's Congressional delegation supports a visa program to allow foreign workers to legally come to Vermont dairy farms for a few years. Senator Leahy has tried several times to pass that legislation, most recently this summer. Leahy's office hopes there will be a fresh attempt at solving this problem with the new Obama Administration.
Channel 3 has gotten a lot of feedback on this series. Some say these workers should be arrested and what the farmers are doing is wrong. But the majority of responses have been supportive, saying it's refreshing to see people willing to speak so candidly about this.
Mama Nancy-- who was featured in Part 2-- says she's gotten a big reaction with people saying they want to help the Mexicans in any way they can. And Rob Hunt-- the farmer also in Part 2 who admitted his workers were here illegally-- says farmers have contacted him and say they're willing to rally and protect him in case federal authorities raid his farm.
http://www.wcax.com/global/story.asp?s=9389178
Thursday, November 26, 2009
FOREIGNERS ON THE FARM, PART 2: Is Vt. Turning a Blind Eye to Illegal Workers?
By Kristin Carlson - WCAX News
Addison, Vermont
November 19, 2008
69-year-old Nancy Sabin is full of energy. She found a new calling in retirement.
"I'm Mama Nancy," she explains.
Mexican workers gave her the nickname-- she's their self-described protector in Vermont.
"The range of farms are Derby to Swanton to Springfield," Sabin says.
She's taking workers to get clothing at the grange hall in Charlotte. Many are in the U.S. illegally and this trip could land her in jail.
"I'm honored and if I'm doing something wrong and I happen to get arrested-- I need a vacation," she says.
Sabin started this six years ago after she was invited to a farmers' meeting to help translate for Hispanics looking for work. They had been brought here by human smugglers.
"I thought this was a form of slavery; no one was looking out for the best interest of the Mexican," Sabin says.
So she decided she would and gave out her phone number. From there it's grown-- placing hundreds of workers on 60 farms, work she does free.
It's not just the workers but the farmer Sabin helps.
"We had to do something because we needed the help and we were pretty apprehensive about it," Rob Hunt says.
Hunt is a farmer in Addison milking about 210 cows. After his Vermont worker left, he ran an ad for six months looking for help with no luck. The hours are long; the work hard. Then he was told by another farmer about Mama Nancy.
"They said call this woman. Left a message on a machine; who I was, what I wanted. And she calls back and leaves me a message on my machine, 'I have three packages coming in the next week. If you're interested call me back,'" Hunt recalls.
Hunt says he'd rather hire Vermonters; there are no language barriers, plus this is all illegal.
"The whole thing is unnerving. Number one you are breaking the law and the sheriff goes through here every day. So you may as well put up a sign that says I'm a criminal," Hunt says.
He pays the three Mexican workers on this farm $8 an hour, plus he takes care of rent, heat, utilities and medical care. The workers do provide him documents-- that he assumes are not real-- but he still pays into workers' comp and Social Security.
"I want you to know number one I'm not exploiting these people," Hunt says.
Without the Mexican workers, Hunt says he'd have to sell the farm. And he's not alone.
Reporter Kristin Carlson: You hear the statistic that there are 2,000 Mexicans in Vermont. What do you think of that number?
"I think it probably covers Addison County," Hunt replies. "We can go around here on a gallon of gas and show you 40,000 acres here that's going to have houses on it if it's not farmed and of these 40,000 acres-- most of the cows here are getting milked by Mexicans."
Reporter Kristin Carlson: I think a lot of people have an image of what a Vermont farm is. Do you think it's time that image changes now to include Mexican laborers?
"Absolutely," Vt. Agriculture Secretary Roger Allbee answers. "There is a great discussion behind the scenes but no one wants to be terribly visible discussing it publicly.
Carlson: Why?
Allbee: I think they are afraid for themselves, I think they are afraid for their operations and I think they are afraid about their image in the community.
The Agriculture Agency has a contingency plan in case a farm is raided by federal authorities: Allbee and volunteers would milk.
He says farmers don't want to break the law, but there is no legal program to bring migrant workers to dairy farms.
Carlson: Is the state complicit in allowing this illegal activity to go on?
Allbee: I would say that the state is not being complicit in doing this; I would say the state recognizes this is an extremely difficult issue; the state has a responsibility to uphold the law. It doesn't mean that the state has to check IDs, that's not the state's responsibility."
"There is no industry that should be based on exploitation," says James Haslam, of the Vermont Workers' Center.
Haslam fights for Vermont workers' rights. He says although he's heard many farmers treat migrant workers well, there may be some farmers paying low wages.
Haslam: There are a lot of Vermonters looking for work.
Carlson: Do you think if farmers paid a higher wage they would be able to get Vermonters to do the job and they wouldn't have to go through illegal sources?
Haslam: There's no question that if you pay higher wages you get people more interested in the job.
Nancy Sabin gets messages from migrants looking for work every week and says she only places workers on farms where they are treated well and paid fairly.
Carlson: Do you think you've helped the Mexicans here have a better life?
Sabin: Absolutely.
She stays connected once they return home, sending gifts for Christmas.
"This box will probably cost 40-50 dollars," she says.
Carlson: Why do you do this if it is such an expense?
Sabin: Because they need it.
Federal Authorities have contacted her several times-- even stopping her car, but this 69 year old is not scared.
Carlson: How much longer do you think you will do this?
Sabin: Until I die.
Sabin says she hopes this will spur discussion and lead to a federal guest worker program that applies to dairy farms. But in the meantime, many of these workers and farmers are breaking the law.
http://www.wcax.com/global/story.asp?s=9381175
Addison, Vermont
November 19, 2008
69-year-old Nancy Sabin is full of energy. She found a new calling in retirement.
"I'm Mama Nancy," she explains.
Mexican workers gave her the nickname-- she's their self-described protector in Vermont.
"The range of farms are Derby to Swanton to Springfield," Sabin says.
She's taking workers to get clothing at the grange hall in Charlotte. Many are in the U.S. illegally and this trip could land her in jail.
"I'm honored and if I'm doing something wrong and I happen to get arrested-- I need a vacation," she says.
Sabin started this six years ago after she was invited to a farmers' meeting to help translate for Hispanics looking for work. They had been brought here by human smugglers.
"I thought this was a form of slavery; no one was looking out for the best interest of the Mexican," Sabin says.
So she decided she would and gave out her phone number. From there it's grown-- placing hundreds of workers on 60 farms, work she does free.
It's not just the workers but the farmer Sabin helps.
"We had to do something because we needed the help and we were pretty apprehensive about it," Rob Hunt says.
Hunt is a farmer in Addison milking about 210 cows. After his Vermont worker left, he ran an ad for six months looking for help with no luck. The hours are long; the work hard. Then he was told by another farmer about Mama Nancy.
"They said call this woman. Left a message on a machine; who I was, what I wanted. And she calls back and leaves me a message on my machine, 'I have three packages coming in the next week. If you're interested call me back,'" Hunt recalls.
Hunt says he'd rather hire Vermonters; there are no language barriers, plus this is all illegal.
"The whole thing is unnerving. Number one you are breaking the law and the sheriff goes through here every day. So you may as well put up a sign that says I'm a criminal," Hunt says.
He pays the three Mexican workers on this farm $8 an hour, plus he takes care of rent, heat, utilities and medical care. The workers do provide him documents-- that he assumes are not real-- but he still pays into workers' comp and Social Security.
"I want you to know number one I'm not exploiting these people," Hunt says.
Without the Mexican workers, Hunt says he'd have to sell the farm. And he's not alone.
Reporter Kristin Carlson: You hear the statistic that there are 2,000 Mexicans in Vermont. What do you think of that number?
"I think it probably covers Addison County," Hunt replies. "We can go around here on a gallon of gas and show you 40,000 acres here that's going to have houses on it if it's not farmed and of these 40,000 acres-- most of the cows here are getting milked by Mexicans."
Reporter Kristin Carlson: I think a lot of people have an image of what a Vermont farm is. Do you think it's time that image changes now to include Mexican laborers?
"Absolutely," Vt. Agriculture Secretary Roger Allbee answers. "There is a great discussion behind the scenes but no one wants to be terribly visible discussing it publicly.
Carlson: Why?
Allbee: I think they are afraid for themselves, I think they are afraid for their operations and I think they are afraid about their image in the community.
The Agriculture Agency has a contingency plan in case a farm is raided by federal authorities: Allbee and volunteers would milk.
He says farmers don't want to break the law, but there is no legal program to bring migrant workers to dairy farms.
Carlson: Is the state complicit in allowing this illegal activity to go on?
Allbee: I would say that the state is not being complicit in doing this; I would say the state recognizes this is an extremely difficult issue; the state has a responsibility to uphold the law. It doesn't mean that the state has to check IDs, that's not the state's responsibility."
"There is no industry that should be based on exploitation," says James Haslam, of the Vermont Workers' Center.
Haslam fights for Vermont workers' rights. He says although he's heard many farmers treat migrant workers well, there may be some farmers paying low wages.
Haslam: There are a lot of Vermonters looking for work.
Carlson: Do you think if farmers paid a higher wage they would be able to get Vermonters to do the job and they wouldn't have to go through illegal sources?
Haslam: There's no question that if you pay higher wages you get people more interested in the job.
Nancy Sabin gets messages from migrants looking for work every week and says she only places workers on farms where they are treated well and paid fairly.
Carlson: Do you think you've helped the Mexicans here have a better life?
Sabin: Absolutely.
She stays connected once they return home, sending gifts for Christmas.
"This box will probably cost 40-50 dollars," she says.
Carlson: Why do you do this if it is such an expense?
Sabin: Because they need it.
Federal Authorities have contacted her several times-- even stopping her car, but this 69 year old is not scared.
Carlson: How much longer do you think you will do this?
Sabin: Until I die.
Sabin says she hopes this will spur discussion and lead to a federal guest worker program that applies to dairy farms. But in the meantime, many of these workers and farmers are breaking the law.
http://www.wcax.com/global/story.asp?s=9381175
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
FOREIGNERS ON THE FARM, PART 1: The Secret Lives of Foreign Workers
By Kristin Carlson - WCAX News
Addison, Vermont
November 18, 2008
It's 2:30 a.m. in Addison.
While many Vermonters sleep, morning chores have already started.
Jose Cruz Balcazar is not used to the cold.
"I am 18 years old and I am from Tabasco-- in southern Mexico," he says through a translator. "Here my job is to milk, everything that the boss says; milking, cleaning."
He works alongside Arturo Osorio.
"I am 26 years old," Arturo says through a translator. "I mostly milk cows, feed the cows, make the mix of feed."
Both are from Mexico and both risked their lives for these jobs.
"Yes, I am scared of police," Jose says.
They agreed to talk to us to help Vermonters understand why they're here.
"It's just how I tell my boss; we're not here to commit crimes, we're here to work and send money to Mexico to our families," Jose explains.
Around 5:00 a.m., the farmer Rob Hunt is up.
"These guys you never have to wake up and make sure the lights are on-- they're here," he says.
He's hired three Mexicans to work on his farm.
"I didn't hire them because I didn't want Vermonters, I would hire a Vermonter if they'd apply," Rob explains.
"In the beginning they don't have a clue what I'm saying. My Spanish is better for Arturo then Jose because he's heard it for longer! Plus the Vermont accent I'm sure doesn't make it easier to understand," Rob says.
"I think I speak more English," Arturo says.
"Yeah, especially with Arturo we speak more English," Rob agrees.
Arturo is back for a second three-year stay on the farm. His first time here he saved up enough money to build a house in Mexico. But his wife got ill and with mounting medical bills, he came back to make money.
"At first I thought I would never come back but then being in Mexico... I missed working," Arturo says.
He says there are not many jobs in Mexico and the few don't pay well. Here he makes about $8 an hour-- about $600 a week. It could take at least a month to make that in Mexico. He sends most of the money home.
"I have two children-- a boy and a girl-- they are 6 and 5 years old," he says.
Reporter Kristin Carlson: Your children must miss you?
Arturo: Yes, sometimes I call and they say, 'daddy I miss you and I don't feel good,' or my wife-- miss her-- when I call every time it's hard.
Around noon it's break time. Arturo is free until the last milking-- around 5:00 p.m.
The three workers live in a trailer on the farm. Rob Hunt pays for the heat, rent, utilities and medical care. But Arturo almost didn't make it back here-- he got stopped in New Mexico.
"It was very hard. I paid a lot of money and then immigration stopped me twice, so I ended up in jail," he says.
He was sent back to an unfamiliar border town in Mexico.
"There's a lot of bad people. They promise they can send you back to the U.S. but they just want your money," Arturo says.
He called Rob Hunt, who wired him money. The second trip he eluded police, but is still paying Hunt back. All told, it cost him $6,000 to get here-- double the usual cost.
"It was expensive for me to get to Vermont. It costs all of us," Jose says.
Jose had to walk three days in the desert to cross the border and meet human smugglers who would take him to Vermont.
"Once I was in the desert I wanted to go back, but if I go back to Mexico I have to pay that money back," he explains. "Once I got to New Mexico I got a ride in the back of a truck, but we piled up in the back. So it was hard to get here."
It can be isolating living in secret. Jose and Arturo rarely go out and when they do it's with Rob Hunt; just to church, the grocery store and to wire money home.
Reporter Kristin Carlson: Are you worried about being sent back to Mexico by the Police?
"When I'm home I feel secure and safe, but when I go to the store then I feel a little worried," Arturo says. "Because a lot people stare at us when we go to town in the stores... maybe because we look different."
Both say they plan to return to Mexico in two to three years.
"I miss my family-- my father and my sister-- a whole lot," Jose says.
They are taking a risk talking publicly, but say their story is like hundreds of Hispanic farm workers in Vermont.
"There are a lot of Mexicans on the farms here. Just up the street there's three Mexicans," Jose says.
"I would like people to realize we are here only to work. We're not here to harm anyone," Arturo says.
According to a Vermont Farm Bureau survey, Mexican workers contribute to half of all the milk produced in the state.
http://www.wcax.com/global/story.asp?s=9373424
Addison, Vermont
November 18, 2008
It's 2:30 a.m. in Addison.
While many Vermonters sleep, morning chores have already started.
Jose Cruz Balcazar is not used to the cold.
"I am 18 years old and I am from Tabasco-- in southern Mexico," he says through a translator. "Here my job is to milk, everything that the boss says; milking, cleaning."
He works alongside Arturo Osorio.
"I am 26 years old," Arturo says through a translator. "I mostly milk cows, feed the cows, make the mix of feed."
Both are from Mexico and both risked their lives for these jobs.
"Yes, I am scared of police," Jose says.
They agreed to talk to us to help Vermonters understand why they're here.
"It's just how I tell my boss; we're not here to commit crimes, we're here to work and send money to Mexico to our families," Jose explains.
Around 5:00 a.m., the farmer Rob Hunt is up.
"These guys you never have to wake up and make sure the lights are on-- they're here," he says.
He's hired three Mexicans to work on his farm.
"I didn't hire them because I didn't want Vermonters, I would hire a Vermonter if they'd apply," Rob explains.
"In the beginning they don't have a clue what I'm saying. My Spanish is better for Arturo then Jose because he's heard it for longer! Plus the Vermont accent I'm sure doesn't make it easier to understand," Rob says.
"I think I speak more English," Arturo says.
"Yeah, especially with Arturo we speak more English," Rob agrees.
Arturo is back for a second three-year stay on the farm. His first time here he saved up enough money to build a house in Mexico. But his wife got ill and with mounting medical bills, he came back to make money.
"At first I thought I would never come back but then being in Mexico... I missed working," Arturo says.
He says there are not many jobs in Mexico and the few don't pay well. Here he makes about $8 an hour-- about $600 a week. It could take at least a month to make that in Mexico. He sends most of the money home.
"I have two children-- a boy and a girl-- they are 6 and 5 years old," he says.
Reporter Kristin Carlson: Your children must miss you?
Arturo: Yes, sometimes I call and they say, 'daddy I miss you and I don't feel good,' or my wife-- miss her-- when I call every time it's hard.
Around noon it's break time. Arturo is free until the last milking-- around 5:00 p.m.
The three workers live in a trailer on the farm. Rob Hunt pays for the heat, rent, utilities and medical care. But Arturo almost didn't make it back here-- he got stopped in New Mexico.
"It was very hard. I paid a lot of money and then immigration stopped me twice, so I ended up in jail," he says.
He was sent back to an unfamiliar border town in Mexico.
"There's a lot of bad people. They promise they can send you back to the U.S. but they just want your money," Arturo says.
He called Rob Hunt, who wired him money. The second trip he eluded police, but is still paying Hunt back. All told, it cost him $6,000 to get here-- double the usual cost.
"It was expensive for me to get to Vermont. It costs all of us," Jose says.
Jose had to walk three days in the desert to cross the border and meet human smugglers who would take him to Vermont.
"Once I was in the desert I wanted to go back, but if I go back to Mexico I have to pay that money back," he explains. "Once I got to New Mexico I got a ride in the back of a truck, but we piled up in the back. So it was hard to get here."
It can be isolating living in secret. Jose and Arturo rarely go out and when they do it's with Rob Hunt; just to church, the grocery store and to wire money home.
Reporter Kristin Carlson: Are you worried about being sent back to Mexico by the Police?
"When I'm home I feel secure and safe, but when I go to the store then I feel a little worried," Arturo says. "Because a lot people stare at us when we go to town in the stores... maybe because we look different."
Both say they plan to return to Mexico in two to three years.
"I miss my family-- my father and my sister-- a whole lot," Jose says.
They are taking a risk talking publicly, but say their story is like hundreds of Hispanic farm workers in Vermont.
"There are a lot of Mexicans on the farms here. Just up the street there's three Mexicans," Jose says.
"I would like people to realize we are here only to work. We're not here to harm anyone," Arturo says.
According to a Vermont Farm Bureau survey, Mexican workers contribute to half of all the milk produced in the state.
http://www.wcax.com/global/story.asp?s=9373424
Monday, November 23, 2009
Immigration Agents Raid Vt. Dairy Farms
By Keagan Harsha
WCAX News
Enosburgh, Vermont
November 19, 2009
The day started just like any other for life-time dairy farmer Clement Gervais.
But that all changed at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, when an immigration official and two state troopers walked into his barn and handed him a subpoena.
"I've read about it in magazines in different parts of the country but I didn't really expect them to pull into my yard," Gervais said.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency-- otherwise known as ICE-- is now asking him to hand over documents and financial records proving all his workers are here legally.
Gervais has 22 workers-- nine of them are Mexican.
While he believes all of them are legal, he says there's no way to prove their papers are legit.
"It caught us totally by surprise. We were not informed about this in any way," Vt. Agriculture Commissioner Roger Allbee said.
Allbee says four farms were served subpoenas; two in Orleans County and two in Franklin County.
One of those farmers says he was told 87 total farms will be targeted in the coming days-- a claim that hasn't been verified.
"My fear is the hysteria," Allbee said. "That people get convinced federal authorities will show up on their farm and even though they may have the proper papers... this has a tendency to cascade."
"If our workers are concerned about their safety they may not want to work here and that's the last thing our dairy farm needs right now," Gervais said.
It's no secret that Vermont dairy farms hire immigrant workers. In fact it's believed the majority of all farm workers in the state are immigrant workers and some are working here illegally. But raid's like these are almost unheard of.
ICE says the audits are part of a larger nationwide work force enforcement strategy. Officials say 1,000 audits will be conducted nationwide-- and not just at farms.
That's little comfort to farmers like Clement Gervais, who worry the work force will disappear at a time when farms are already struggling to survive.
"We've had to borrow money every month for the last six months just to keep producing milk," Gervais said.
The farms now have three working days to provide documentation for their workers. But some are worried many of the workers will leave before then fearing deportation. Farmers and workers who fail to comply will face consequences. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said, "Audits may result in civil penalties and lay the groundwork for criminal prosecution of employers who knowingly violate the law."
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=11539962
WCAX News
Enosburgh, Vermont
November 19, 2009
The day started just like any other for life-time dairy farmer Clement Gervais.
But that all changed at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, when an immigration official and two state troopers walked into his barn and handed him a subpoena.
"I've read about it in magazines in different parts of the country but I didn't really expect them to pull into my yard," Gervais said.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency-- otherwise known as ICE-- is now asking him to hand over documents and financial records proving all his workers are here legally.
Gervais has 22 workers-- nine of them are Mexican.
While he believes all of them are legal, he says there's no way to prove their papers are legit.
"It caught us totally by surprise. We were not informed about this in any way," Vt. Agriculture Commissioner Roger Allbee said.
Allbee says four farms were served subpoenas; two in Orleans County and two in Franklin County.
One of those farmers says he was told 87 total farms will be targeted in the coming days-- a claim that hasn't been verified.
"My fear is the hysteria," Allbee said. "That people get convinced federal authorities will show up on their farm and even though they may have the proper papers... this has a tendency to cascade."
"If our workers are concerned about their safety they may not want to work here and that's the last thing our dairy farm needs right now," Gervais said.
It's no secret that Vermont dairy farms hire immigrant workers. In fact it's believed the majority of all farm workers in the state are immigrant workers and some are working here illegally. But raid's like these are almost unheard of.
ICE says the audits are part of a larger nationwide work force enforcement strategy. Officials say 1,000 audits will be conducted nationwide-- and not just at farms.
That's little comfort to farmers like Clement Gervais, who worry the work force will disappear at a time when farms are already struggling to survive.
"We've had to borrow money every month for the last six months just to keep producing milk," Gervais said.
The farms now have three working days to provide documentation for their workers. But some are worried many of the workers will leave before then fearing deportation. Farmers and workers who fail to comply will face consequences. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said, "Audits may result in civil penalties and lay the groundwork for criminal prosecution of employers who knowingly violate the law."
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=11539962
Friday, November 14, 2008
Five immigrant workers arrested
Five immigrant workers arrested
By Dan McLean
Burlington Free Press Staff Writer
November 14, 2008
Working from a citizen's tip, the U.S. Border Patrol arrested five illegal immigrants walking across an Essex parking lot Thursday morning.
A union analyst said the immigrants were subcontractors working on the Lowe's in Essex. Mark Henry, an operations officer with U.S. Border Patrol in Swanton, declined to disclose the illegal immigrants' nationality, gender or age, citing agency policy.
The Border Patrol has established through interviews, record checks and an investigation that the five individuals are in the U.S. illegally, Henry said. They will be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation proceedings, Henry said.
The arrests took place in an Essex parking lot at about 8 a.m. Thursday morning near where Lowe's Cos. Inc. is building a store, Henry said. He did not know the parking lot where the arrests took place.
Damon Hall, a Burlington-based industry analyst for Ironworkers Local 7, which covers most of New England, said the five people arrested worked for a drywall subcontractor that is working on the Lowe's in Essex. "They were seen walking to and from the job site," he said.
Karen Cobb, Lowe's Cos. Inc. public relations manager, said the home improvement store is "continuing to review this situation."
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20081114/NEWS02/811140313/1009/NEWS01
By Dan McLean
Burlington Free Press Staff Writer
November 14, 2008
Working from a citizen's tip, the U.S. Border Patrol arrested five illegal immigrants walking across an Essex parking lot Thursday morning.
A union analyst said the immigrants were subcontractors working on the Lowe's in Essex. Mark Henry, an operations officer with U.S. Border Patrol in Swanton, declined to disclose the illegal immigrants' nationality, gender or age, citing agency policy.
The Border Patrol has established through interviews, record checks and an investigation that the five individuals are in the U.S. illegally, Henry said. They will be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation proceedings, Henry said.
The arrests took place in an Essex parking lot at about 8 a.m. Thursday morning near where Lowe's Cos. Inc. is building a store, Henry said. He did not know the parking lot where the arrests took place.
Damon Hall, a Burlington-based industry analyst for Ironworkers Local 7, which covers most of New England, said the five people arrested worked for a drywall subcontractor that is working on the Lowe's in Essex. "They were seen walking to and from the job site," he said.
Karen Cobb, Lowe's Cos. Inc. public relations manager, said the home improvement store is "continuing to review this situation."
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20081114/NEWS02/811140313/1009/NEWS01
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