John Rosenow, a fifth-generation farmer located in Waumandee, Wisconsin, manages over 900 acres of land and has more than 600 dairy cows. He stated that approximately 90% of the labor on the farm is performed by immigrants.
Among these immigrants is Kevin, who hails from central Mexico. He crossed the U.S. southern border without legal documentation at the age of 18. Now at 21, Kevin, who chose not to disclose his last name during an interview with CBS News, is one of the 11 million undocumented migrants residing in the U.S. According to a report from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, over 10,000 of these individuals are employed on dairy farms in Wisconsin.
Kevin’s responsibilities include feeding the cows and maintaining the barns. He explained to CBS News that he often works 12-hour shifts, six days a week, occasionally starting work as early as 3 a.m. However, the compensation he receives is an improvement over what he could earn back home.
He mentioned that his family, including his mother and siblings, relies on his wages, in addition to the income generated by his father, who also works at the same farm.
According to a study conducted by Texas A&M University, more than half of all employees in the U.S. dairy industry are immigrants, many of whom are believed to be undocumented, as dairy farms generally lack access to seasonal visa programs for hiring legal migrant laborers. Similar to Kevin, many immigrants leave their families behind for earnings that are lower than what American workers typically receive.
Rosenow remarked, “If I were to hire Americans to perform this work, I would likely need to pay around $100,000 a year per individual, and they would only be available for maybe 40-50 hours a week at that compensation rate. Clearly, I wouldn’t be able to afford to pay Americans the wages they demand.”
However, with the new Trump administration making strides toward fulfilling the president’s pledge to deport undocumented immigrants, Rosenow is apprehensive about what lies ahead.
When questioned about the implications of his workers being deported, Rosenow told CBS News, “I’d be out of business. And it wouldn’t take long.”
In contrast, Kevin does not seem to share the same concerns as his employer.
“Four years ago, when he was the president, he claimed ‘I will deport everyone,’ yet that never transpired,” Kevin stated in Spanish. “We occasionally watched the news and saw instances of families being deported, which made us anxious about going out to buy groceries. However, I have not felt that fear since then.”
