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.
Category: Economy
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.
Posted inEconomy, WisWatch Blog
Spending and debt increase in Wisconsin’s largest cities in past five years
Municipal spending and debt both increased in Wisconsin’s biggest cities between 2003 and 2007.
Posted inEconomy, Education
Wisconsin’s low-income school population rises, includes nearly 4 in 10 elementary students
Nearly four in 10 Wisconsin elementary students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch last school year, and the proportion of low-income elementary students has climbed every year of this decade, according to state Department of Public Instruction data analyzed by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.
Posted inDairyland Diversity, Economy
Farmers discuss immigrant workers
Wisconsin Public Television, a partner with the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, talks with Wisconsin farmers about the role of Hispanic immigrant workers in the dairy industry, as part of a new investigation launched by the Center.
Posted inEconomy, Government
Questions remain as state pushes ahead with rail line
Advocates for improving the nation’s passenger rail system see it as a faster, cleaner way to travel. But other transportation policy experts believe those benefits are overstated and don’t justify the high cost of providing passenger train service.
Posted inDairyland Diversity, Economy
Doyle on dairy: Immigrant worker role increasing
WATERLOO — Top Wisconsin officials acknowledged Tuesday that Wisconsin dairy farmers increasingly rely upon immigrant workers, including large numbers who may be undocumented — a result of demand for labor and the nation’s porous borders.