NewsFinale
  • Home
  • News
  • Local News
  • Business
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Celeb Lifestyle
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Advertise Here
Gleammour AquaFresh
NewsFinale
  • Home
  • News
  • Local News
  • Business
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Celeb Lifestyle
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Advertise Here
Home Local News “Confusion over Washington’s response to a Vermont dairy farm raid fuels anxiety”

“Confusion over Washington’s response to a Vermont dairy farm raid fuels anxiety”

A Vermont dairy farm was raided. The mixed messages from Washington since then have increased fears
Up next
Farmer may have to spend last days away from home due to lack of local care
Farmer might need to stay elsewhere in his final days because of limited local support
Published on 07 July 2025
Author
NewsFinale Journal
Share and Follow
FacebookXRedditPinterestWhatsApp


MONTPELIER, Vt. – After six 12-hour shifts milking cows, José Molina-Aguilar’s lone day off was hardly relaxing.

On April 21, he and seven co-workers were arrested on a Vermont dairy farm in what advocates say was one of the state’s largest-ever immigration raids.

“I saw through the window of the house that immigration were already there, inside the farm, and that’s when they detained us,” he said in a recent interview. “I was in the process of asylum, and even with that, they didn’t respect the document that I was still holding in my hands.”

Four of the workers were swiftly deported to Mexico. Molina-Aguilar, released after a month in a Texas detention center with his asylum case still pending, is now working at a different farm and speaking out.

“We must fight as a community so that we can all have, and keep fighting for, the rights that we have in this country,” he said.

The owner of the targeted farm declined to comment. But Brett Stokes, a lawyer representing the detained workers, said the raid sent shock waves through the entire Northeast agriculture industry.

“These strong-arm tactics that we’re seeing and these increases in enforcement, whether legal or not, all play a role in stoking fear in the community,” said Stokes, director of the Center for Justice Reform Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School.

That fear remains given the mixed messages coming from the White House. President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a promise to deport millions of immigrants working in the U.S. illegally, last month paused arrests at farms, restaurants and hotels. But less than a week later, the assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security said worksite enforcement would continue.

Such uncertainty is causing problems in big states like California, where farms produce more than three-quarters of the country’s fruit and more than a third of its vegetables. But it’s also affecting small states like Vermont, where dairy is as much a part of the state’s identity as its famous maple syrup.

Nearly two-thirds of all milk production in New England comes from Vermont, where more than half the state’s farmland is dedicated to dairy and dairy crops. There are roughly 113,000 cows and 7,500 goats spread across 480 farms, according to the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, which pegs the industry’s annual economic impact at $5.4 billion.

That impact has more than doubled in the last decade, with widespread help from immigrant labor. More than 90% of the farms surveyed for the agency’s recent report employed migrant workers.

Among them is Wuendy Bernardo, who has lived on a Vermont dairy farm for more than a decade and has an active application to stop her deportation on humanitarian grounds: Bernardo is the primary caregiver for her five children and her two orphaned younger sisters, according to a 2023 letter signed by dozens of state lawmakers.

Hundreds of Bernardo’s supporters showed up for her most recent check-in with immigration officials.

“It’s really difficult because every time I come here, I don’t know if I’ll be going back to my family or not,” she said after being told to return in a month.

Like Molina-Aguilar, Rossy Alfaro also worked 12-hour days with one day off per week on a Vermont farm. Now an advocate with Migrant Justice, she said the dairy industry would collapse without immigrant workers.

“It would all go down,” she said. “There are many people working long hours, without complaining, without being able to say, ‘I don’t want to work.’ They just do the job.”

___

Ramer reported from Concord, N.H.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Share and Follow
FacebookXRedditPinterestWhatsApp
You May Also Like
RCSO identifies suspicious bone as non-human thanks to recent Augusta University grad
  • Local News

Recent Augusta University Grad Helps RCSO Identify Suspicious Bone as Non-Human

AUGUSTA, Ga. () – The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office has determined a…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 30, 2025
Augusta Barber Lounge hosting back to school giveaway
  • Local News

Augusta Barber Lounge’s Back-to-School Giveaway Event

MARTINEZ, Ga. () – It’s back to school season in the CSRA…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 30, 2025
Melvin Village President resigns
  • Local News

President of Melvin Village Steps Down

FORD COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — The Melvin Village President resigned Monday, citing…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 30, 2025
Sean 'Diddy' Combs asks for release on a $50 million bond ahead of sentencing in October
  • Local News

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Requests $50 Million Bond Release Before October Sentencing

LOS ANGELES – Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is asking a judge…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 29, 2025
Gunman who killed 4 at Manhattan office building was targeting NFL headquarters: mayor
  • Local News

Gunman who killed 4 at Manhattan office building was targeting NFL headquarters: mayor

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 29, 2025
Will the lower Chatham Area Transit millage rate impact services?
  • Local News

How Might the Reduced Chatham Area Transit Millage Rate Affect Services?

SAVANNAH, Ga. () — The Chatham County Board of Commissioners adopted a…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 30, 2025
Youngkin orders Richmond to pay wrongly imprisoned man $5.8 million or state funds will be withheld
  • Local News

Youngkin Demands Richmond Compensate Wrongly Imprisoned Man $5.8 Million or Face State Funding Cuts

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — After a Richmond man spent over 40 years…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 29, 2025
Oklahoma attorney arrested for attempted kidnapping at daycare
  • Local News

Oklahoma Lawyer Arrested for Trying to Kidnap Child from Daycare

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – An Oklahoma-licensed attorney has been arrested for allegedly…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 29, 2025
VIDEO: Tree catches fire at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando
  • Local News

WATCH: Fire Erupts in Tree at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. – A tree caught fire on Tuesday at Universal’s Islands…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 30, 2025
Hawaii under tsunami advisory after massive earthquake off Russia coast
  • US

Hawaii Issues Tsunami Advisory Following Major Earthquake Near Russia

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 30, 2025
Brit fugitive wanted over 'horrific' UK kidnap and murder is arrested in the Caribbean over separate child abduction claim
  • News

British Fugitive Linked to ‘Shocking’ UK Kidnap and Murder Captured in Caribbean on New Child Abduction Charges

A British man wanted over a ‘horrific’ UK kidnap and murder has…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 30, 2025
Ozzy Osbourne’s daughter who shunned fame to make comeback for emotional tribute
  • Celeb Lifestyle

Ozzy Osbourne’s daughter, who avoided the spotlight, returns for heartfelt tribute

It has been revealed that Ozzy Osbourne’s rarely seen daughter, Aimee Osbourne,…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 30, 2025
NewsFinale Journal
  • Home
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Sitemap
  • DMCA
  • Advertise Here
  • Donate