Here to stay: Migrant worker issue contains many perspectives

Sally Barber | Cadillac News Elvia Vasquez, a native of central Mexico, manages calf feeding at Autumn Vista Dairy in McBain. Vasquez came to Michigan 10 years ago, earning citizenship status two years ago.

Every year about 40,000 migrant farm workers come to Michigan to pick fruit and vegetables and to work on dairy and Christmas tree farms.

This year the numbers may increase according to Christina Loera, a member of the migrant clinic staff serving this region.

Loera is involved with the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program. In February, the most recent data period, the clinic registered 420 women and children. While the clinic serves Wexford and Missaukee counties, those numbers primarily account for Oceana County, where the seasonal work is beginning, Loera said. The figure excludes men who often come without family members.

Many of the migrants registering with the clinic are in Michigan for the first time. Most are coming from Mexico, California, Wisconsin and Florida because of lack of work in those areas, Loera said.

“They are lower educated, low-income — and come up her to make a living,” she explained. “Some of the women come here to have their children and make sure they are born in the U.S.”

The immigrant story is a kaleidoscope of perspectives, but the bottom line is the human quest for personal and community economic stability.

When Autumn Vista Dairy in McBain was founded, the native language of the farm worker was Dutch. Today, more than a century later, it’s Spanish.

Third generation dairy owner/operator Gerry Gernaat employs 30 workers at peak season. Half are immigrants.

“I’m passionate about opportunities for people,” Gernaat said. “My mother came here from Holland when she was 10. It gave her an opportunity for a better life.”

Mexican immigrant Elvia Vasquez is one of many workers who have benefited from Gernaat’s drive to pay back the system that sustained his family.

After leaving her hometown San Luis Potasi, Vasquez settled in Texas. Ten years ago she came to Michigan to work on the Gernaat farm. Mother of five, she manages care for the dairy’s 200 calves, earning $11 per hour. In addition to wages, she is provided medical insurance and a house with paid utilities.

“People come here because they want to work for their families,” Vasquez said in broken English.

Herdsman Jesus Mejia, also a manager, came to the United States in 1986 and to McBain in 1997.

“Coming to the U.S., my life is 100 percent better,” Mejia said.

Gernaat has hired Hispanic immigrants for the past decade.

“We need a stable workforce and they do fill that need,” he said. “Unemployment is 5 percent. Of that, it’s very difficult to hire enough people to do the repetitious work we do on the farm.”

But an immigrant’s legal status can be an unanswered question. New hires are required to complete state and federal W-4 forms, a Department of Homeland Security I-9 form, provide a social security number and two forms of picture identification. Gernaat must assume documentation is authentic.

“It’s against the law to ask a worker if they are a citizen,” he said. “We can get in trouble if we try to determine if a Hispanic is illegal. We would be profiling.”

Gernaat said he is aware of employers in northern Michigan who are “getting away with” knowingly hiring illegals and paying wages in cash to avoid tax issues.

Unlike numerous area Christmas tree growers, Dick Duddles of Reed City will not employ immigrants. He anticipates filling his demand for seasonal workers this year from the area labor pool.

“I think it takes jobs from the local people and when migrants get their checks they send their money back wherever, and they don’t pay their fair share of taxes,” he said.

With the number of illegals undocumented the balance between give and take is hard to evaluate. Like employers, public health workers are prohibited from questioning a person’s legal status, said Dr. James Wilson, District Health Department No. 10 medical director. Anyone qualifying for service under agency guidelines cannot be denied. However, the impact of immigrants on the local public health system is limited.

“We have some in Missaukee County,” Wilson said. “If you look at the statistics, it’s a small percentage.”

Long-term, Gernaat sees the immigrant worker as a permanent part of both the labor force and society.

Your local connection

Current agriculture job openings listed by the Michigan Migrant and Seasonal Worker Program’s area offices: