Vermont’s Mont Peltier.Jos Molina-Aguilar barely had time to unwind on his one day off after working six 12-hour days milking cows.
In what supporters claim was one of the biggest immigration raids in Vermont history, he and seven coworkers were taken into custody on a dairy farm on April 21.
In a recent interview, he stated, “I saw through the window of the house that immigration was already there, inside the farm, and that’s when they detained us.” Even though I was applying for asylum, they showed no regard for the papers I was still carrying.
They quickly deported four of the workers to Mexico. After spending a month in a Texas prison facility while his asylum request was still pending, Molina-Aguilar was released and is currently speaking out and working at another farm.
He stated that in order for us to all have and continue to fight for the rights that we have in this nation, we must fight as a community.
The targeted farm’s owner chose not to respond. However, the raid sent shockwaves across the whole Northeast farm industry, according to Brett Stokes, the attorney for the workers who were held.
“Whether legal or not, these increases in enforcement and the strong-arm tactics we’re seeing all contribute to fostering fear in the community,” stated Stokes, director of the Center for Justice Reform Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School.
Given the conflicting messaging from the White House, that anxiety still exists. Last month, President Donald Trump, who ran on a platform of deporting millions of illegal immigrants working in the United States, halted arrests at hotels, restaurants, and farms. However, the Department of Homeland Security’s assistant secretary declared that worksite enforcement will not stop less than a week later.
In large states like California, whose farms produce more than three-quarters of the nation’s fruit and more than a third of its vegetables, this uncertainty is creating issues. Smaller places like Vermont, where dairy is as much a part of the state’s identity as its well-known maple syrup, are also being impacted.
More over half of Vermont’s acreage is used for dairy and dairy crops, accounting for about two-thirds of New England’s total milk production. According to the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, there are about 480 farms with about 113,000 cows and 7,500 goats. The industry’s yearly economic effect is estimated to be $5.4 billion.
With the extensive assistance of immigrant labor, that influence has more than doubled over the past ten years. Migrant workers were employed by almost 90% of the farms examined for the agency’s most recent report.
Among them is Wuendy Bernardo, who has been living on a dairy farm in Vermont for over ten years and has filed an application to prevent her deportation on humanitarian grounds. According to a 2023 letter signed by dozens of state lawmakers, Bernardo is the primary caregiver for her five children as well as her two younger sisters who are orphaned.
Bernardo’s latest check-in with immigration officials was attended by hundreds of her supporters.
After being instructed to return in a month, she remarked, “It’s really difficult because every time I come here, I don’t know if I’ll be going back to my family or not.”
On a farm in Vermont, Rossy Alfaro, like Molina-Aguilar, worked 12-hour days with one day off each week. Without immigrant workers, the dairy sector would fail, according to the now-Migrant Justice champion.
“Everything will fall,” she said. Many people put in a lot of overtime without complaining or being able to express that they don’t want to work. They simply carry out their duties.
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From Concord, New Hampshire, Ramer reported.
