Immigrant issue hits home for locals Debate illuminates status of Vermont's illegal immigrants

Author: Andrea Glaessner

Recent demonstrations by illegal immigrants in response to crackdowns on U.S. border control and deportation have prompted legislators to once again examine an issue that has been the source of fiery debate since the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. In what The New York Times called "the largest effort by immigrants to influence public policy in history," thousands of illegal immigrants rallied against a radically stringent enforcement bill passed by the House of Representatives.

Professor of Political Science Eric Davis explained some of the implications of the Congressional bill including a proposal to build a fence along the border of the United States and Mexico, giving local law enforcement the authority to inquire about citizenship status without probable cause and making illegal immigration a felony. The bill failed in the Senate last week, but legislators are still working to draft new legislation to address the revolutionary demand that illegal immigrants be granted citizenship and that their hardships and dignity as fellow human beings be acknowledged.

The recent debates shine light on Vermont's own state of affairs involving illegal immigrants, who are indispensable to communities across the state - farming communities in particular - yet they remain largely hidden. Although Vermont has no where near the number of illegal immigrants as states that are situated on the Mexican border, the state does depend on hidden groups of Mexican workers economically. Perhaps the fact that Mexican immigrants residing in Vermont are so absent from public view is an indication of the great lengths people who depend on them will go in order to protect them from deportation.

Unlike Mexican immigrants in other parts of the United States, those in Vermont are not explicitly demanding citizenship. Most are male farm workers who are here for a finite period of time and plan to return to Mexico to rejoin their families. An individual who works with some illegal immigrants in Vermont explained that these farm laborers "are only here to work as much as they possibly can. They take out what they need for food and send the rest back to their families, since they simply cannot support them in Mexico." Furthermore, the individual mused, "Why would you risk life and limb to cross a border where there are vigilantes with shotguns and you can die in the desert, if you didn't have another choice."

Getting to the United States is hard enough, and having to go back and do it all over again is even harder, but apparently not insurmountable. In fact, New York Times op-ed contributor Douglas S. Massey noted that "although border militarization had little effect on the probability of Mexicans immigrating illegally, it did reduce the likelihood that they would return to their homeland. America's tougher line roughly tripled the average cost of getting across the border illegally; thus Mexicans who had run the gantlet at the border were more likely to hunker down and stay in the United States." Massey's estimates indicate that "in the early 1980s, about half of all undocumented Mexicans returned home within 12 months of entry, but by 2000 the rate of return migration stood at just 25 percent."

In Vermont, a largely homogenous northern state, illegal Mexican immigrants are a low percentage of the population and "stick out like a sore thumb". Because it is such a taboo subject with so many interests at stake, it is difficult to gather accurate statistics on the number of illegal immigrants in Vermont. Estimates include between two and four hundred illegal immigrant farm workers in Addison County, and 1,500 total in the state of Vermont. On most farms, there exists a symbiotic relationship between Mexican illegal immigrants and their patron, or farm employer, on protection from deportation. An individual who works with immigrant farm laborers commented that "they're being somewhat exploited because they're not always paid entirely fair wages and they're not always housed appropriately, but the vast majority of farm employers here [treat them reasonably well]."

Many other Vermonters are actively involved in protecting illegal immigrants in Vermont out of humanitarian concern. Social service organizations, especially those dealing with healthcare and education, have shown honorable respect and concern for the dignity and well-being of Mexican immigrants. A Vermont Health Care professional said, "It's just like going to the emergency room, you just take care of them, period. That's what medical professionals do. Citizenship and other legal issues are irrelevant. We have to ensure their safety and the safety of others who might be vulnerable to contagious illnesses."

But all Vermonters involved with illegal immigrants, whether out of necessity or empathy, recognize the sensitive nature of discussion on the subject, and are hesitant to release information, no matter how objective or statistical, that may corrupt the extremely delicate relationship between local law enforcement and illegal immigrants. All have requested that their names not be released, concerned that anti-immigration activists will investigate and report any information to local law enforcement.

Although local law enforcement is technically not allowed to inquire about an individual's citizenship status without reasonable suspicion, they have been known to engage in racial profiling. As one individual who has worked with local illegal immigrants noted, "They [law enforcers] may not go to the farms [in search of illegal immigrants], but that doesn't stop them from standing in the Walmart parking lot looking for broken taillights with a Mexican behind the wheel. It's wrong, but it's done." Another individual cited allegations that border patrol officers at a checkpoint along the northern border of Vermont and Canada near White River Junction on I-91 frequently engaged in "excessive and rigorous questioning and searching of individuals of both Hispanic and Middle Eastern descent."

Some Vermonters, especially small farmers, disapprove of illegal immigration, because if one farm does it, the others must follow suit to compete. The farmers who fear the implications of the illegality claim they "don't like the direction farming is heading," since more and more farms are dependent on cheap labor to survive in a market increasingly dominated by massive agricultural conglomerates which are able to replace human labor with machines. One individual aptly noted, "If the farmers can't get cheap labor, they're going to sell their farm to a developer and I can't blame them. But if they do it's bad for all of us, not just for those in dairyland, but for those who care about the environment and the destruction large farms can cause.

But on America's farms, illegal immigrants are not just attractive cheap labor, they are irreplaceable for their willingness to do the work that Americans are disinclined, and even loath, to do. Individuals in the United States who claim illegal immigrants are taking jobs from "honest, hardworking" Americans often do not recognize how difficult it is for farms to find laborers to do farm work that is physically and mentally taxing for such low wages. Furthermore, Americans are not always dependable farm laborers. Their acute awareness of the distinctly American opportunity for citizens to have upward mobility makes them more likely to walk away from the rough life of farm labor when a better opportunity presents itself. Mexican laborers, on the contrary, are incredibly hardworking and real assets to production according to their employers.

Though essentially concealed, the invisible communities of Mexican immigrants are vital to Vermont livelihood. One advocate for the rights of illegal immigrants commented, "This is an issue beyond illegality. It's about economics, the environment, and humanity. Americans who argue for deportation and stringent illegal immigration laws would be well advised to "stop and
think," of one Vermonter's query, "the next time you go to a restaurant, do you want to pay $25 for a hamburger?"