Wisconsin, which once provided a driver’s license pathway for residents who entered the country illegally, now leaves them with few safe options.
Tag: immigrants
Posted inJustice & Safety
Death on a Dairy Farm: What really happened to 8-year-old Jefferson Rodríguez
When an 8-year-old Nicaraguan boy was run over on a Wisconsin dairy farm, authorities blamed his father and closed the case. Meanwhile, the community of immigrant workers knows a completely different story.
Posted inEconomy, Government, Rural Slide
Hispanic immigrants help rural county stave off population dip
Dairy farmer Jeremy Meissner and farm manager Huron Mireles are part of the reason Clark County’s population is growing while nearby counties’ levels are declining. Part three of three in the Center’s Rural Slide series.
Posted inGovernment, Justice & Safety
Wisconsin officials strengthen fight against human trafficking
This week, about 300 Wisconsin law enforcement officials received training on how to identify cases of human trafficking — which often are not spotted because victims are fearful to speak out.
Posted inDairyland Diversity, WisWatch Blog
Slideshow: A community transformed (Dairyland Diversity Part 6)
Reporter Jacob Kushner and photographer Jake Naughton went to Darlington, Wis., for the latest installment of our Dairyland Diversity package (it’s here: Immigrant dairy workers transform a rural Wisconsin community). And they came back with an unusual coming-to-America story. One in which the old guard and the new wave are actually living in relative harmony.
Posted inDairyland Diversity, Economy
Immigrant dairy workers transform a rural Wisconsin community
An influx of immigrants into Wisconsin’s dairy industry is giving a new Hispanic flavor to rural areas.
Posted inDairyland Diversity, Economy
Wisconsin dairy farms are growing — along with their immigrant work forces
Wisconsin’s dairies are expanding, and they can’t do it without immigrant labor. Part 5 in our Dairyland Diversity project.
Posted inDairyland Diversity, Economy, Government
Immigrants help Wisconsin dairy farms. Will Congress help them?
Dairy farmers say they want access to immigrant workers without getting into legal trouble. But many lawmakers on Capitol Hill are running away from the issue.
Posted inDairyland Diversity, Justice & Safety
Undocumented and driving without a license
Drivers beware: There’s a woman driving a stretch of Interstate 90 between Sparta and Tomah — without a license or any training about Wisconsin’s traffic laws.
Posted inDairyland Diversity, Economy, Health & Welfare, Justice & Safety
A delicate existence: Undocumented Wisconsin dairy farm workers
They traveled 1,720 miles to work long hours on a dairy farm in western Wisconsin, among people who do not speak their language and in a place where their presence is illegal. Part 3 in our Dairyland Diversity project.
Posted inDairyland Diversity, Economy
Immigrants now 40 percent of state’s dairy workforce
A growing number of Wisconsin dairy farmers are relying on immigrants to milk their cows and keep their farms running smoothly. But experts say farmers are often caught in a “don’t ask, don’t tell” web of federal employment regulations, with a strong incentive to know as little as possible about the legal status of their workers.
Posted inDairyland Diversity, Economy
Rural immigration summit focuses on ‘invisible community’
DODGEVILLE — Rapid increases in the Latino population of Wisconsin’s rural areas are reshaping work, school and social life, but also are raising concerns that Spanish-speaking immigrants are often isolated and mistrusted, experts and residents said at an event aimed at fostering better connections between newcomers and long-time residents.