This commentary is by Dan Baker of Starksboro, associate professor emeritus of community development and applied economics at the University of Vermont. For more than 20 years, he has been actively involved in research and outreach related to migrant farmworkers.
In the United States, the coming weeks and months promise to be extremely stressful for migrant and immigrant communities and the businesses that depend upon them.
Among these, dairy farmworkers and dairy farmers are uniquely exposed. There is no visa program for dairy, as there is for seasonal farmworkers in fruit and vegetable operations, and issues of authorization and legal status are widespread. As President Donald Trump wields his power to fulfill campaign threats of mass deportations, enforcement actions by ICE are ratcheting up stress, fear and anxiety in Vermont communities.
For dairy farmworkers and their families in Vermont, it has been months of rising fear. Leaving the farm has become increasingly risky for them, even for food shopping or to access health care. Emergency plans are being discussed should parents be deported and children left behind.The list of direct and personal threats for migrants is long, and the fear, uncertainty and isolation they are experiencing are hard for most to imagine. That honest, hardworking people living and contributing to our state face this is, without doubt, an injustice.
On many dairy farms in Vermont, migrant workers are essential, as is true across the U.S. Research found that a majority of the U.S. dairy industry workforce is made up of migrant workers, who collectively produce about 80% of all domestic milk. Mass deportations of migrant workers would be devastating to the dairy industry, both nationally and here in Vermont.
Prior to Inauguration Day, the prevailing sentiment among the dairy farmers I spoke with was hope the Trump administration’s enforcement wouldn’t target dairy farmworkers, following a rationale that putting the milk supply at risk could result in food price inflation. Now, given recent enforcement, farmers are experiencing more widespread concerns. The operation of their farm and care for their herd could pose an existential risk for a dairy farmer should the farm’s workers be deported. In our state, where labor shortages have challenged our dairy farms for decades, for many farms there is no plan B if those workers are lost.
While of different magnitudes, both farmworkers and farmers share in the stresses of immigration enforcement. On many Vermont farms, the farm families and the farmworkers — and often their extended families — have been together for years, deepening the emotional connection to the current situation. Today, I spoke with a dairy farmer who is filling out paperwork for a migrant family so that the farm family can care for their children should the parents be deported. Another farmer expressed concern that a long-time farmworker’s son is too scared to go to school.
My colleagues across the spectrum of farm service providers are hearing the same and worse. A friend of mine told me she is concerned about her staff’s well-being due to the strain they feel trying to advise and protect the migrant families with whom they work. Unfortunately, it appears this is just the beginning.
To minimize the mental, social and economic harm that aggressive immigration enforcement can have on our communities, we need action now… and there are actions we can take. These include what we can do as individuals, through community support, state involvement and federal actions.
As individuals, we can support organizations that assist farmworkers in accessing health care, education, and housing. Many of these organizations depend substantially on federal dollars, so cut or frozen budgets could severely limit their ability to provide critically needed assistance. We can support a range of organizations to help them continue their work through monetary donations and volunteering our time.
At a University of Vermont roundtable last spring, when asked “How do we get to the place where all farmworkers experience good, safe, healthy workplaces and living conditions?” the consensus priority was to build coalitions. This requires an un-siloed, whole-system perspective that recognizes and respects the needs of all the groups sharing a common interest in greater farmworker and farmer well-being.
Collaboration will be key in developing and sharing resources and information widely. This is already starting. Several efforts are underway to distribute “know your rights” information to farmworkers, farmers, and schools. There is rising interest in how to bear “witness” safely, respectfully and legally if you are present during an immigration enforcement action.
As a state, Vermont has already adopted policies that improve the lives of migrant communities, including fair and impartial policing policy, driver privilege cards and programs to improve farmworker housing. More work can be done at the state level to support the health and well-being of migrant communities, especially in these times of increased stress due to federal immigration enforcement.
Finally, we need federal legislation and collaboration for longer-term changes that benefit both red and blue states. Former Sen. Leahy tried unsuccessfully to advance a legal visa program for dairy farmworkers styled after the H-2A program for seasonal farmworkers.
Our congressional delegation can resume that effort and collaborate with other dairy states for a visa program that will support the dairy industry year round by providing a legal pathway for migrant farmworkers, including those here now. This would provide farmworkers with greater protections and farmers with more workforce stability.
