Wisconsin Dairy Labor Crisis Deepens After ICE Raids
The Wisconsin dairy labor crisis is intensifying as the state’s dairy industry faces significant challenges. Wisconsin has long been known as “America’s Dairyland,” with family farms and world-class cheese production at its core. However, the state’s dairy operations are increasingly dependent on immigrant labor, particularly from undocumented Latino workers. Without this workforce, Wisconsin’s dairy industry would struggle to meet its demand.
Immigrant Labor: A Cornerstone of the Wisconsin Dairy Labor Crisis
A 2023 survey from the University of Wisconsin’s School for Workers estimated that 70% of Wisconsin’s dairy workforce is made up of immigrant labor. Many of these workers are Latino and undocumented, filling year-round, physically demanding positions that U.S.-born workers often avoid. Without them, dairy production in the state would likely grind to a halt.
Latinos represent 13% of Wisconsin’s population, with nearly 450,000 residents living in counties where dairy production is key to the local economy. Their presence has been crucial in maintaining Wisconsin’s agricultural economy, driven by both new arrivals and second-generation families. However, these workers often face difficult working conditions and the constant threat of deportation due to their undocumented status.
Legal Barriers: Exclusion from Visa Programs and Growing Vulnerability
Dairy workers in Wisconsin are excluded from the federal H-2A visa program, which provides temporary work visas for seasonal agricultural labor. This exclusion means that thousands of immigrant workers in the state remain undocumented and without legal protections. As a result, these workers are vulnerable to deportation, despite the critical role they play in keeping dairy operations running.
Governor Tony Evers recently addressed this issue, stating, “The bottom line is, in Wisconsin, 70% of our farms… 70% of the people may be part of the federal government’s idea to move them elsewhere, out of our country.” This statement underscores the difficult position farmers face: they rely on immigrant labor but are caught between the need for workers and the increasing political pressure to enforce immigration policies.
ICE Raids: Intensifying the Wisconsin Dairy Labor Crisis
The Trump administration’s ramped-up immigration enforcement has exacerbated the Wisconsin dairy labor crisis. Raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have targeted both urban and rural communities, causing widespread fear. In Milwaukee, families have grown afraid of attending public events or moving freely, worried that a routine encounter could result in deportation.
Moreover, ICE raids have directly impacted dairy farms. In Monroe, workers at W&W Dairy staged a strike in response to the company’s implementation of E-Verify, a system that verifies employment eligibility. The strike highlighted the vulnerability of undocumented workers, many of whom risk losing their jobs without legal recourse or severance. Similarly, in Manitowoc County, a major ICE operation detained 24 individuals, many of them dairy workers, as part of a broader investigation into labor trafficking.
Labor Trafficking and Exploitative Conditions in the Wisconsin Dairy Industry
The risks faced by immigrant dairy workers go beyond the threat of deportation. Many undocumented workers cannot obtain driver’s licenses, which complicates their ability to safely commute to work. Investigations by ProPublica and the University of Wisconsin’s School for Workers have uncovered instances of labor trafficking in the dairy industry, where workers face intimidation and retaliation if they try to leave exploitative conditions.
Farmers find themselves trapped in a difficult situation. Although they face growing political pressure to reduce the reliance on undocumented labor, they recognize that their operations cannot survive without it. To address the Wisconsin dairy labor crisis, some farmers are lobbying Congress to expand the visa programs to include year-round dairy labor, but efforts to enact such reforms have failed time and again.
The Future of Wisconsin’s Dairy Industry and Its Labor Crisis
The Wisconsin dairy labor crisis is part of a larger national dilemma. ICE workplace raids disrupt businesses, leaving employers scrambling to replace experienced workers. While these raids aim to reduce reliance on undocumented labor, they have not led to significant increases in local hiring. Instead, farms remain understaffed, production is slowed, and the labor shortage worsens.
As deportations increase and political debates over immigration continue to stall, Wisconsin’s dairy industry remains heavily dependent on a workforce that lacks legal protections. The state’s cheese production, which contributes to more than a quarter of the nation’s total, stands on the shoulders of workers who power the barns but remain vulnerable in an industry that cannot function without them.
