‘They Should Include Us’: Vermont’s Immigrant Farmworkers Push For Coronavirus Aid

Uriel, seen here outside his home, has worked on a dairy farm in central Vermont for two years. Uriel is part of an organization that’s asking lawmakers and the governor to help immigrants who have been excluded from existing coronavirus relief programs. (Peter Hirschfeld/VPR)

Immigrant workers on Vermont’s dairy farms say they want access to the same coronavirus aid programs that have helped other residents weather the unprecedented economic downturn.

Vermont’s dairy industry has been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and a sudden drop in milk prices due to COVID-19 has forced some farmers to scale back operations, or close down altogether.

Setbacks in the dairy industry have meant a loss of jobs, income and even housing for the immigrant workers that keep many farms running. But they’ve been excluded, by virtue of their citizenship status, from the federal stimulus checks, unemployment payments and pandemic unemployment assistance that have helped keep other newly jobless Vermonters afloat.

“We come to this country to be able to work, not with the idea of doing anything bad, just to contribute. And during these times in particular, we’ve seen that we’re essential, they call us essential, and we want that to always be respected,” said a farm worker named Uriel. “And we’ve seen they’ve created a fund for the community, but unfortunately we’ve been excluded from that fund.”

Read the rest of this story at VPR’s website.