Blogs

The Vermont legislature is considering a bill to expand housing access for immigrant families. Developed by Migrant Justice and supported by dozens of organizations and agencies, the proposal​​ would stop discrimination against immigrants and prevent landlords from asking about immigration status.

Vermont's legislators need to hear from you! Take a moment to email your Senators and Representatives to voice your support for Housing Access for Immigrant Families.

Read more to learn more about this campaign!

This has been a busy month for Migrant Justice. We are moving forward the fight for justice and human rights on all fronts, whether in the Vermont State House advancing a bill to expand housing access for immigrant families, in the press announcing the launch of the Building Dignity and Respect Program in the state’s construction industry, or on the streets responding to the increase in immigration surveillance and arrests.

Every day brings more news out of Washington of renewed attacks against immigrant rights. Employers take advantage of heightened fear and insecurity to abuse immigrant workers. At a local sawmill, for example, ten immigrant workers organized to demand long-promised raises and an end to abuses in employee housing; rather than meet with his employees, the boss summarily fired his workers and attempted to throw them out of their homes. And in the dairy industry, the need to expand Milk with Dignity to protect the rights of farmworkers has never been greater.

Today, supporters are making calls to Hannaford Supermarket to demand Milk with Dignity. Make your call now!

Read more to learn about more steps to support the campaign for Milk with Dignity!

End of day update: over 250 confirmed calls!

Vermont Construction Company – one of the largest and fastest-growing builders in the state – has committed to join a program setting labor and housing standards for construction workers. The Building Dignity and Respect Program will soon provide enforceable rights protections for the hundreds of workers on Vermont Construction sites.

On January 27th, dozens of construction workers gathered in the headquarters of Vermont Construction to witness the signing of the agreement of cooperation. Migrant Justice leader and construction worker José Ignacio, company president David Richards, and Doug Mork – Director of the Building Dignity and Respect Standards Council – addressed the assembled journalists and supporters. Then, to raucous applause, each worker passed to the front to add their name to the accord, signalling the community’s commitment to bring Building Dignity to Vermont. 

Read more to see the news coverage from the recent announcement and learn about how immigrant workers – from Florida, to Vermont, to Minnesota – made this possible!

Vermont Construction Company has signed an agreement of cooperation announcing its commitment to become the first Vermont builder to join a worker-driven program monitoring and enforcing labor and housing standards. The commitment will bring the Building Dignity and Respect Program to Vermont’s fast-growing construction industry and provide much-needed protections to a sector lacking in regulation.

Surrounded by workers and speaking at a signing ceremony outside the Colchester offices of Vermont Construction Company, Co-Founder David Richards said: “The Vermont Construction Company is proud to support efforts to improve the welfare of construction workers in Vermont. As an inaugural member, VCC has signed a formal Term Sheet and will help support a third-party auditor to review subcontractor pay, safety, and housing. We welcome the oversight and guidance of the Building Dignity and Respect Standards Council.”

José Ignacio, a construction worker, joined the owners of Vermont Construction Company at the podium. Speaking in Spanish, he lauded the commitment: “Vermont needs more construction workers to address the state’s housing crisis, but many of us who find work in the industry do not have the protections we need to keep ourselves safe or prevent abuse. We are glad that Vermont Construction is making this commitment to the workers on its projects, and we will join together to make sure that workers are treated with the respect and dignity that we all deserve.”

Read more to see the full announcement!

On January 10, Migrant Justice kicked off the 2025 legislative session in the Vermont State House by calling on elected officials to remove the discriminatory barriers that keep immigrant families stuck in substandard housing. 

Hundreds of immigrant families are moving to Vermont looking to make the state their new home. And increasingly, long-time dairy workers are moving off the farms and into new jobs in other industries. This often means moving out of employer-provided housing and looking for an apartment for the first time. But many landlords refuse to rent to workers and their families because of their immigration status, leaving them out in the cold. 

The difficulties that immigrant workers face finding housing are particularly cruel, given that many are working in the construction industry building housing themselves. At the State House press conference, former dairy worker and current construction worker José Ignacio illustrated the point.

“Every time we build a new house in Vermont, it brings me great pride to know we’ve put a roof above somebody’s head. It’s my dream, one day, that the houses that we are building are open for our own community to live in.”

Read more to get the whole story!

We face a difficult road ahead. The United States has ended an election cycle dominated by racist fear-mongering against immigrants with the election of a candidate promising mass deportations. The national climate of xenophobia is felt everywhere: one vigilante in a Vermont border town, for example, has recently become a local celebrity by documenting himself detaining groups of migrants and boasting on social media. 

Trump’s return to the White House will bring untold suffering to Migrant Justice’s community of immigrant farmworkers and to immigrant families around the country. Yet we are no strangers to discrimination, deportations, and the separation of families. Even before the election, Border Patrol had drastically increased its presence in the area, leading to more detentions of farmworkers, while ICE flaunted its own rules to deny due process and deport families. The criminalization of immigrant communities will take a new form, but it is not new.

Support immigrant farmworkers organizing to resist criminalization and deportation. Donate to Migrant Justice today!

Last month, hundreds of farmworkers and allies held 15 actions at Hannaford stores around the region, urging the company to stop human rights abuses in its dairy supply chain and join the Milk with Dignity Program.

Today, add your voice to theirs by calling Hannaford President Mike Vail. Take a minute to join hundreds of others calling to send a clear message to Hannaford: we want Milk with Dignity!

The reelection of Donald Trump will have a grave impact on Migrant Justice’s community and will shape our work in the coming years. Over the past two weeks, we have held many conversations on farms and around kitchen tables about what this election means for our organization. 

Migrant Justice spokesperson Rossy Alfaro recently participated in a roundtable of farmworker leaders from around the country, interviewed by online newsmagazine truthout. In her interview, Rossy channeled the message of our members:

The election will of course impact our community and our work. But at the same time, we’ve faced criminalization and discrimination before.… There were a lot of people in our community who were deported during the first Trump administration, but many of us weren’t. We remain here today, and we’re going to continue fighting to remain.

Read more to see more of Rossy’s interview and learn how to support Migrant Justice’s work in the coming years.

The Milk with Dignity Month of Action has wrapped up! Throughout October, farmworkers and allies held fifteen actions at Hannaford Supermarkets in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont to connect with customers and build support for Milk with Dignity.

In the final week, farmworkers held pickets around Vermont in Bennington, Brattleboro, and Burlington, and across the Connecticut River in West Lebanon, New Hampshire. Students and youth swelled the ranks of the picketers, with participation from college students from Dartmouth and Bennington Colleges, high schoolers from the Putney School in southern Vermont, and even elementary school students from the Sustainability Academy in Burlington.

Read more to see the full photo-report and support the campaign for Milk with Dignity!

The Milk with Dignity Month of Action has reached its final week! Unseasonably warm temperatures and sunny days have kept the actions going, as farmworkers and allies continue to picket Hannaford Supermarkets around the region. At each action, workers are connecting with consumers to build support for the campaign and increase the pressure on Hannaford to join the Milk with Dignity Program.

The third week of the Month of Action brought Migrant Justice to Maine – with energetic pickets in Portland and Belfast – then back to Vermont for a consumer education event in Williston. During the pickets, farmworkers from Maine and Vermont stood side-by-side and called on potential Hannaford customers to show support by not crossing the picket line. Many would-be shoppers turned around after hearing workers’ messages.

Read more to see the full photo-report and get information about upcoming actions!