Dairy farmers want right to employ temporary US work visa holders

March 15 2010 by Liam Clifford

Dairy farmers in Vermont, who were targeted in US immigration raids late last year, are now speaking out about their experiences.

One such farmer, whose case has now been cleared, says that he wants dairy farmers to be able to employ foreigners under the US temporary work visa system.

Speaking to the Associated Press, Clement Gervais, whose farm was cleared of wrongdoing, says he was unaware the people he employed may have been undocumented. He and his wife had collected the correct documentation that showed the workers they employed were allowed to work in the US legally. However, it seems some of the documentation may have been false as three of the migrant workers left the farm after the immigration raid.

Gervais stated, “you look at [the documentation], and unless you can see something that's obviously fraudulent about it, you've got to take it for what it is, which is what we did."

Gervais added that he would like to be able to take on US visa holders for several years at a time, as the farm work needs doing throughout the year. Although crop farmers are able to hire staff under the H2A temporary US work visa programme, dairy farmers are not. He explained that there are not enough US workers to do the jobs required.

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