In northern Michigan’s vineyards and orchards, ablaze with fall colors, migrant farmworkers are known to sing corrido ballads and folk songs as they pick grapes and apples from sunrise to sundown. But their voices fell silent this autumn when targeted roadside arrests by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and workplace visits by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) increased starting in late September.
During these busy summer days in the Leelanau fields, Marcelino sometimes feels as though he carries the weight of two migrant farmworkers. He once picked grapes, cherries and apples alongside 12-15 other workers, but this year there are only seven splitting their time between two small farms.
How our broken immigration system hurts Leelanau County farmers By Jacob Wheeler Sun editor Rosa Valenzuela and her family look forward to their annual trip up north, to see old friends, to prepare picnics in the park and to swim in Lake Michigan when the waters warm by mid-summer. But the Valenzuelas are not your […]
A group recently formed in Leelanau County is speaking out for immigrant rights. With Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or I.C.E. crack-downs across Northern Michigan becoming more common, the group of concerned citizens says they want to stand up for the members of our community that don’t always have a chance to stand up for themselves.