As Trump threatens mass deportations, some rural areas that support him rely heavily on immigrant labor

COCHRANE, Wis. — Dozens of calves moaned as Ermenegildo, a young Mexican farmer, hauled out a cart full of bottles of milk. He attached the bottles to each calf’s wooden pen, walking up and down the row as the animals gulped down the milk in minutes. The dairy farm’s 600 cows produce 5,000 gallons a day, which is trucked to be processed into cheese at a factory owned by the Minnesota co-op.

Farm owner John Rosenow credits immigrants for keeping his business afloat, estimating that at least 90 percent of Wisconsin dairy farm workers are unlicensed. He said he turned to Mexican migrants 25 years ago when he could no longer find American citizens to work.

Now Rosenow believes that if Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump follows through on his campaign promise to carry out mass deportations, it will wipe out the $45 billion dairy industry in America’s second-largest milk-producing state.

“It would have effectively destroyed it,” Roznow said. “There would be a shortage, there would be very high prices, and it would go on for quite a long time.”

Still, on the campaign trail in this crucial battleground state, Trump pledged to end what he called a “massive migrant invasion” of Wisconsin. “They’re coming in illegally, they’re taking everybody’s jobs, and you don’t know who you’re hiring,” he said. “Our country is being destroyed.” Signs supporting Trump line the roads near Rosenova Farm.

Rosenow, a Democrat, said local farmers who support Trump believe the candidate doesn’t mean what he says about mass deportations. When Trump was president, there was a lot of fear in the immigrant community, and most of the farmers Roznow knew lost several workers who fled the country. But after about six months, they started to return.

“It’s like a lot of things in politics,” Rosenow said. “Rhetoric is one thing, reality is another.”

Immigration is one of the biggest issues shaping the campaign between Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Both have pledged to tighten controls on the country’s southern border, but Trump has vowed an unprecedented effort to deploy the National Guard to send back millions of illegal immigrants.

“I think when you talk about mass deportation of any group of people, you’re going to see a ripple effect throughout the economy — agriculture is going to feel the effects as much as many other industries in the country,” Tyler said. Wentzlaff, director of national affairs for the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation.

In case of mass deportation, dairy farms will suffer the most.

The work, which usually takes place in rural areas where the population is shrinking, is grueling and requires long hours. The National Milk Producers Federation says dairy farmers are struggling to hire and retain local workers, with immigrants making up half of all workers.

Last year, the University of Wisconsin estimated that there are more than 10,000 unauthorized workers on Wisconsin dairy farms. In Minnesota, home to an estimated 81,000 undocumented immigrants, the state’s dairy industry’s dependence on such labor was exposed when Attorney General Kate Ellison sued the owners of a Stearns County dairy farm for withholding at least $3 million in unpaid wages from unauthorized immigrant workers . .

George Brownreiter, a retiree from nearby Alma, Wis., and a Trump supporter, said he was “for (immigration) as long as it’s legal, and if it’s not, they should suffer the consequences.” We have laws and rules, and people have to follow them. Lawlessness is not allowed.”

He said illegal immigration hurts everyone because immigrants are willing to work for less than those who are here legally.

Matt Boklund, a Republican activist from Hudson, Wis., said in a statement that the Biden administration’s border policies, along with the State Department’s refugee resettlement efforts, could lead to exploitation in the agricultural industry, where many refugees and immigrants are vulnerable due to labor shortages. protection and their legal status. According to him, this is straining rural communities, many of which are already facing economic burdens.

He suggests creating incentives for farmers to use only legal labor; providing tax breaks, job training, and possibly wage subsidies to encourage American workers to take jobs now held by immigrants; and penalizing farmers who hire unauthorized workers while encouraging investment in automation through tax credits and subsidies.

In 2020, 62% of Buffalo County, where Rosenow Farm is located, voted for Trump. And Wisconsin’s largest milk-producing counties also supported the Republican candidate by a significant margin. Trump has lost the last two elections in Minnesota, but in Stearns County, the state’s largest milk producer, he was supported by 60% of voters.

Out of necessity

In the late 1990s, Rosenow recalled, it was hard to find workers: “The only people who would even respond to the ads were people who had serious problems — work histories and things like that, where they had addiction problems or weren’t reliable . … Most Americans will not work on farms.”

“We desperately needed help,” he said. “We turned to immigrants. And we didn’t want to do that; we didn’t know the language, we didn’t know the culture…but once we did, we found out what great people they are, great workers, great people to be around, and people you want to have as your neighbors.”

Today, 13 of its 18 employees are Mexican. He fills out I-9s and W-4s for employees and says they pay state and federal taxes “just like everyone else.” Federal legislative efforts have repeatedly prevented dairy farm workers from participating in the legitimate H-2A agricultural guest worker program.

Labor shortages are a major concern Wenzlaff is hearing from dairy farmers, and a Wisconsin Farm Bureau committee is studying the issue and meeting with state and agriculture leaders. He supports expanding the H-2A program to include dairy workers and making it more efficient.

“We can still have a secure border while providing a stable workforce, and expanding guest worker programs or work visa programs could help alleviate some of the agricultural labor challenges we’re seeing,” Wenzlaff added.

He said most of the dairy farmers who are members of the federation are likely leaning toward Trump, and Wenzlaff has not heard from them about the mass deportation plan. The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation typically supports Republicans in Congress but does not support presidential candidates.

Hermenegildo’s father worked on the Rosenow farm for almost ten years. Two years ago, his son joined him. Ermenegildo sends most of his earnings home to his family in Mexico and wants to eventually use the money he earns from the dairy farm to build a house there. The workers live in free housing on the farm, occasionally buy groceries in Winona and go to a store in Arcadia to send money back to Mexico. Most earn around $40,000 a year.

Hermenegildo said the workers have spoken out about Trump’s immigration plans and are “scared of being deported.” They wouldn’t want to go back home… what they do here supports their whole family.”

As he tended the calves, another young Mexican migrant in rubber boots led the cows into the milking parlor to be milked three times a day. The worker disinfected the animals’ teats and attached nodes to the udders through which the milk flowed; it passed through a stainless steel pipe, was pumped into the cooling system and sent to the tank. He then ushered the dairy cows back into the barn and brought in another batch to be milked. In a nearby barn, other Mexicans attached a plastic tarp to the outer wall to keep the cows warm.

“They work really fast,” Roznow said of his staff. “We don’t tell them to work very fast; they want to work very fast.”

Ramon, another dairy worker, left his partner and their two children in Mexico to come to Wisconsin. It was difficult, he said, “but you go for their well-being, to be able to get ahead of your family.” Here he hauls manure, repairs shed roofs and does other work around the farm.

Ramon has heard Trump’s rhetoric about mass deportations, but he doesn’t understand it.

“I just don’t know why they won’t let us work here,” he said. “We only came to work.”