Editorial: Migrant workers’ arrest should shock Vt. dairy farmers

When federal agents descended on a dairy farm in Franklin County this Monday, they arrested eight migrant workers. Vermont farms employs about 850 year-round migrant farmworkers — all crucial to the state’s dairy industry.

Federal immigration officials have taken action that could lead to visas being revoked for at least one foreign student at Middlebury College and three recent graduates from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California.

The amount of intentional disinformation and unintentional misinformation about immigration is making it almost impossible to achieve a rational immigration system that truly serves our nation’s needs.

Recently, news and media coverage highlighted video footage and images of border agents near Del Rio, Texas, grossly abusing Haitian migrants crossing the Rio Grande into the United States.

MIDDLEBURY — Suzanne Brown, retired Visiting Assistant Professor at Dartmouth College, will be at Ilsley Public Library in Middlebury on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. to give a Vermont Humanities Council talk entitled “Immigration Restrictions Then and Now: … (read more)

President Trump’s words and actions about immigration and refugee policy represent a significant departure from American history, traditions and values. For example, the White House announced last month that the ceiling on refugees admitted to the United … (read more)

Bill Schubart’s Sept. 16 guest editorial on “sensible immigration policy” and VPR’s recent series on immigration have gotten me thinking about how much sense it could make to bring needed workers to Vermont to help us address a pressing problem — weatheri … (read more)

A Letter to the People of Addison County: As members of a faith community, we are appalled by news of recent harassment and terrorizing of our farmworker neighbors in Bridport, Addison County. We are saddened to learn that there are fellow Vermonters who … (read more)

In a recent conversation with Governor Scott, one of his principle economic concerns was the gap between job openings and applicants. With Vermont’s population either slightly shrinking or growing, depending on the most recent data, it’s fair to say our p … (read more)