‘We Voted for Trump to Fix the Border. Now We’re Milking Cows Alone at 4 A.M.’ – Vermont Farmers Face Harsh Reality as ICE Raids Hit Home
When Donald Trump supporters in rural Vermont cast their ballots, many say they never imagined immigration crackdowns would come to their farms. But in recent weeks, a wave of federal enforcement has rattled the backbone of Vermont’s dairy industry — and sparked an unexpected movement of solidarity, advocacy, and reflection.
At the heart of this shift is Dustin Machia, a fifth-generation dairy farmer from Sheldon. Like many in the region, Machia voted for Trump, drawn by promises of border control and national security. “We didn’t want drugs or gangbangers,” he said. But what he didn’t expect was losing some of his most dedicated employees to immigration arrests.
“It’s scaring the farming community,” Machia admitted. “We didn’t think they’d come for the people who help us
milk cows.”
His unease follows a series of recent detentions. On April 21, Border Patrol officers apprehended eight Mexican workers at Pleasant Valley Farms, the state’s largest dairy operation. A few weeks earlier, another worker was arrested while delivering groceries to the farm.
The arrests — though described by federal agents as a response to a citizen tip rather than a targeted raid — have nevertheless shaken Vermont’s agricultural community. State leaders and farm advocates now warn of a crisis, not just of labor, but of conscience.
Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Anson Tebbetts noted that while immigrants make up a small portion of the state’s population, they are essential to its $3.6 billion dairy sector, which produces 63 percent of New England’s milk. “These workers are vital,” Tebbetts said. “Without them, the cows don’t get milked.”
Indeed, with the number of dairy farms in Vermont halved since 2013, but the cow population remaining stable, operations have scaled up — and leaned heavily on migrant labor. According to the University of Vermont, 94% of dairy farms that hire outside help rely on migrants, mostly undocumented workers from Mexico.
