Immigration and Dairy: People, Policy, and the Future of Farm Labor

Description

WFU Immigration Webinar #2

This session will feature John Rosenow, a fifth-generation dairy farmer and co-founder of Puentes/Bridges and Layla Soberanis, of National Farmers Union.  

In Wisconsin, where dairy is the state’s largest agricultural sector, migrants make up an estimated 40% of the workforce, and UMOS reports that at least 90% of migrant dairy workers are undocumented.  Drawing on decades of relationships, John will share how current immigration systems, including the limits of the H-2A program for year-round dairy, shape daily realities, while bringing a human lens to a topic often discussed only in policy terms. He will be joined by Layla  who will highlight how NFU is advocating for practical immigration reforms that support family farmers, protect workers, and strengthen the future of U.S. agriculture. Together, the session connects lived experience with policy solutions in a complex, deeply interdependent issue.

Puentes/Bridges is an organization that helps farming communities build understanding across cultural and language differences between Mexican workers and the farmers with whom they work. 

Layla Soberanis serves as a Senior Government Relations Representative at National Farmers Union based in Washington, District of Columbia. She covers policy issues like agricultural workforce development, labor, immigration, broadband, education, healthcare, rural development, transportation and infrastructure.