Tag Archives: Migrant Legal Aid

Migrant Legal Aid supports migrant agricultural workers, educates community — before, during and after pandemic

Farm workers at a local growing location from fall 2021. (Migrant Legal Aid)

By D.A. Reed, WKTV Contributing Writer

ken@wktv.org

West Michigan has a thriving agricultural economy with miles of apples and other crops that often need to be picked by hand each fall. Thousands of migrant workers travel to Michigan each year to harvest these crops for local farmers and growers, filling approximately 100 migrant camps to capacity in Kent County.

With that influx of workers and nomad-style workforce, issues can and often do occur — not the least of which was dealing with the recent and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Local non-profit Migrant Legal Aid has been an advocate for those workers, their health and their rights, for many years, and they continued to do so in 2021.

MLA defines a migrant worker as a person who lives and works at the same place and travels seasonally according to which crops are in season. Due to poverty, language barriers, and discrimination, seasonal workers often find it hard to protect their basic human rights and dignity. This is where Migrant Legal Aid say they step in.

Many migrant workers come from such severe poverty that when they are treated unfairly, most don’t speak up, Molly Spaak, attorney for MLA, said to WKTV. “Culturally, they say they can’t complain. They don’t realize they have a voice … There is also a definite fear of deportation if they come forward.”

Problems and solutions

Undocumented workers make up approximately 50 percent of the agricultural work force. Because of this, there is anxiety among the workers that deportation would occur if they come forward when treated unfairly. A way to eliminate this apprehension is found in case law.

Farm workers at a local growing location from fall 2021. (Migrant Legal Aid)

“MLA has good case law that protects undocumented folks from irrelevant immigration questions and retaliation in the workplace,” Spaak said. “This helps them feel more comfortable coming forward with their concerns.”

Young children have often been found in the fields with their parents, helping to harvest the crops so their parents meet the daily quota mandated by the growers.

“Child labor laws absolutely apply to migrant workers and their families,” said Spaak when asked if Michigan law extended to seasonal workers. “There are now migrant daycares and Head Start programs parents can utilize. These are free to the families. Because of this, there has been a drastic decrease of children in the fields.”

Migrant Legal Aid also provides help for those suffering from domestic violence.

“The Hispanic community is very patriarchal,” said Spaak. “Because of this, DV (domestic violence) cases are always popular.”

MLA offers special visas for victims who come forward. These visas help in many ways, providing social security numbers to the victims so they have the opportunity for steady work among them.

“This gives women and men more justification and incentive to come forward,” Spaak said.

Communication, community awareness

Educating the migrant workers on their rights and the services Migrant Legal Aid offers is a daunting yet necessary task. MLA produces many social media campaigns, newsletters to the community, and press releases to the media in an effort to raise awareness.

However, there are still challenges.

Farm workers at a local growing location from fall 2021. (Migrant Legal Aid)

“Social media helps build community awareness, but not our clients’ awareness because our clients don’t always have access to social media like the general population,” said Spaak.

To develop this knowledge, MLA sends migrant advocates into camps two to three times a week during the summer and fall to pass out Migrant Legal Aid information and speak with the workers personally.

Over the past year, advocates also handed out information on COVID-19.

“Migrant housing is jam-packed with people with one kitchen and one shower—it’s impossible to social distance,” said Spaak. “New COVID-19 regulations are not always followed, and the migrant camps were a hot bed for Coronavirus. Even when the vaccines rolled out, myths about the vaccine stopped a lot of people from getting it because they were worried about what it might do to them. We had to dispel those myths.”

Though MLA does have cases of mistreatment that require court appearances, Spaak said that many issues “can be resolved extremely quickly by speaking with the growers. A lot if it is communication and language issues with the workers.”

Migrant Legal Aid works hard to educate the community about migrant workers’ needs and situations but still needs help from the public. Being a self-funded organization, MLA relies on grants, private party donations, and fundraisers to subsidize their work. Two of their largest fundraisers are annual events — Cup of Justice, a golf outing in the spring, and Harvest of Justice, a luncheon in the fall.

While seeing so many cases of injustice against migrant workers is emotionally hard on the MLA attorneys and advocates, personal migrant success stories give them hope.

“Rene Rodriguez was a migrant worker from several years ago. His parents emigrated to the United States and were a farm worker family,” said Spaak.

Rodriguez went to school, worked hard, and became a professional website designer and marketing designer.

“We (MLA) bought several photographs from him that are now hanging in this office,” Spaak said of Rodriguez. “Rene also helps us with marketing, brochures, and photos.”

To find out more about Migrant Legal Aid and how you can help MLA protect migrant workers’ legal rights, visit here.

Farm workers at a local growing location from fall 2021. (Migrant Legal Aid)

Harvest of Justice luncheon to honor clinic that vaccinated 500 migrant workers

A member of the Migrant Legal Aid staff gets a vaccine. (Supplied)

By Sheila McGrath
WKTV Contributing Writer


A Sparta health clinic that went above and beyond the call of duty to vaccinate West Michigan farm workers will be honored at Migrant Legal Aid’s annual Harvest of Justice Luncheon this month.

The event, designed to share client success stories with donors and the community, will be held at noon on Wednesday, Oct. 13, at the Eberhard Center on GVSU’s downtown campus.

Clinics held at the Mercy Health Physician Partners office in Sparta last March vaccinated more than 500 migrant workers against COVID-19, according to Mary Bennett, CFO Of Migrant Legal Aid.

The clinic did an exemplary job organizing its vaccination site so farm workers could get in and out quickly without standing around waiting, according to Teresa Hendricks, executive director of the organization. 

“It was an incredible logistical feat,” she said.

Migrant Legal Aid, a nonprofit that advocates for migrant workers’ rights, has assisted at several vaccination clinics in hopes of getting as many of the workers vaccinated as possible. The state doesn’t keep numbers on how many farm workers have been vaccinated for the virus, Hendricks said, but Migrant Legal Aid has assisted with vaccinating 625 people so far.

They’re not done with the work yet, and they hope to persuade more migrant workers to get the vaccine through a video recently produced by WKTV. In both English and Spanish, the video dispels common myths surrounding the vaccine and presents the facts. Appearing on the video are Spanish-speaking doctors who have gotten the vaccine themselves.

“We realized a peer-to-peer video speaking about the importance of it was going to be key,” Hendricks said.

(Right) Mirgrant Legal Aid Executive Director Teresa Hendricks shows off her vaccine shot with a staff member. (Supplied)

The video will be shared on Migrant Legal Aid’s website and YouTube channel along with other social media sites. It will also go out to listservs (a mailing list) for other migrant providers, Hendricks said.

The video can also be used at migrant camps, where Migrant Legal Aid staff can show it on an iPad when they’re visiting, Hendricks said. At future vaccination clinics, they can have it playing on a loop while people wait to get their shots.

The Harvest of Justice luncheon is an important event to spread the word about what Migrant Legal Aid does, Bennett said. In addition to the award presentation, the luncheon will feature highlights of the work the organization has done over the past year.

“We have table hosts we ask to bring guests who might not be familiar with our program and what we do. That grows the community awareness as well as our donor base. Most of them, after they hear what we do, are eager to help,” she said.

Last year’s luncheon was held online at the WKTV studio due to the pandemic. The online version got a wide audience and raised the interest of people who are excited to come in person this year, Bennett said.

This year’s keynote speaker will be Charlie LeDuff, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and investigative journalist.

 

In his research for articles about farm workers, LeDuff has embedded himself with migrants crossing the border and working in the fields in California to see what they go through. He nearly died while crossing the border during his investigative reporting, Hendricks said.

Tickets to the luncheon are free, but there will be an “ask” for donations, Bennett said. For tickets, go to www.migrantlegalaid.org.

Snapshots: Wyoming and Kentwood news you need to know

 

WKTV Staff

ken@wktv.org

 

Quote of the Day
In honor of ArtPrize: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”  — Pablo Picasso

 

ArtPrize venues you
might not think about 

ArtPrize 10 is here which means for the next two and half weeks much of the community will be focused on and discussing art. A few of the venues which you might automatically think about reached out to us with information about who will be at their venue. To get the details, click here.

 


Picking time in local orchards,
and who’s doing the work

 

The Grand Rapids based Migrant Legal Aid organization visited WKTV Journal: In Focus recently to discuss the continuing and confusing mess that is current federal immigration policies, including the separation of families and sometimes separate deportation of suspected illegal immigrants — many of them seeking work as part of America’s migrant labor force. For more information, click here.

 

 


Stories from the road
with Kentwood bicyclist

Kentwood resident and bicyclist-on-a-mission Ken Smith, last week, took a wrong road in Canada but ended up with an unexpected meal and a donation for his cause — his 3,500-plus coast-to-coast trip to raise funds for his grandson, Jakob,  and awareness of all persons with neurological damage. For more information, click here.

 

 


And today’s fun fact
(bicyclist history):

268.8 km/h
Fred Rompelberg from Maastricht, Netherlands, was the holder of the motor-paced speed world record cycling with 268.831 km/h (166.9 mph) from 1995 to 2018. He used a special bicycle behind a dragster of the Strasburg Drag Racing Team at the Bonneville Salt Flats. (Wikipedia)

 

New ACLU program, threats to Michigan’s migrant labor on WKTV Journal: In Focus

 

WKTV Staff

ken@wktv.org

 

On the latest episode of WKTV Journal: In Focus is two topics greatly impacting West Michigan and the entire nation: criminal rehabilitation and the blurry world of migrant labor in a time of immigration reform battles.

 

First up is Richard Griffin, the newly hired Grand Rapids Field Organizer for the ACLU of Michigan’s Smart Justice campaign, which is committed to reducing the number of people in prison by 50 percent and eliminating racial disparities in our criminal justice system. Griffin was incarcerated at the age of 16 for a drug-related homicide and spent 23 years behind bars, but that is only the beginning of his story. We will talk with him about the rest of his life’s story, about the work of the ACLU’s Smart Justice effort, and about why he has an almost spiritual connection to jazz.

 

Also on the episode, and on YouTube, is the Grand Rapids based Migrant Legal Aid organization, from the group we will talk with director and attorney Teresa Hendricks and attorney Ben O’Hearn. The group works to protect migrant agricultural workers legal rights and work with local farmers and agribusiness to resolve legal disputes. The group has visited In Focus before, but with the continuing and confusing mess that is current federal immigration policies, including the separation of families and sometimes separate deportation of suspected illegal immigrants — many of them seeking work as part of America’s migrant labor force — we wanted to talk to people in the know.

 

 

“WKTV Journal: In Focus” airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel. But all interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal: In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.

 

Migrant Legal Aid program, State Sen. MacGregor on latest WKTV Journal: In Focus

 

 

WKTV Staff

news@wktv.org

 

On the latest episode of In Focus, the Grand Rapids based Migrant Legal Aid organization, specifically director/attorney Teresa Hendricks and attorney Ben O’Hearn, discuss their group’s work to protect migrant workers’ legal rights and to give voice to a sometimes silent portion of our community.

 

Also on the episode, Michigan State Sen. Peter MacGregor (R-28th District, which includes the City of Wyoming) talks with host Ken Norris about his work for efficient funding for the state’s foster care system as well as subjects ranging from the state’s term limits law to his volunteer work for “Volley for Mitchell”, a charity volleyball tournament which has raised more than $100,000 for Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy.

 

 

 

The entire episode of “WKTV Journal: In Focus” airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel.

The episode will continue its two week run Tuesday, Jan. 22 , at 6:30 p.m., and will again air on Thursday, also at 6:30 p.m., on WKTV channels but all interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal: In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVVideos.

WKTV Journal: Migrant Legal Aid, Gezon Park, LocalFirst, and a look at a special documentary

 

With the new year, comes a new WKTV Journal. To give you more of what is happening in your community, we have extended our newscast so we can provide expanded coverage about what is taking place in local business, sports, entertainment and more.

 

In this newscast, explore the issues facing migrant laborers talking with representatives from the Migrant Legal Aid. LocalFirst Marketing Manager Mieke Stoub to talk to us about LocalFirst, its impact and the organization’s upcoming 8th Annual Meeting.

 

We then take a look at the City of Wyoming’s efforts to develop a new master plan for Gezon Park.  And finally, local author and producer Rose Hammond stops by to discuss her work on the documentary “In Between the Woods: Idlewild and Woodland Park, Michigan.”

State Sen. MacGregor, Migrant Legal Aid program featured on latest WKTV Journal: In Focus

WKTV Staff

news@wktv.org

 

Michigan State Sen. Peter MacGregor (R-28th District, which includes the City of Wyoming) has a business background, being a former small business owner and having graduated from Michigan State University with a business degree. So one thing he hates is late payment for work performed, a problem often faced by the state’s foster care providers.

 

During a visit to the set of WKTV Journal: In Focus early this month, MacGregor talked with host Ken Norris about his work for efficient funding for the state’s foster care system as well as subjects ranging from the state’s term limits law to his volunteer work for “Volley for Mitchell”, a charity volleyball tournament which has raised more than $100,000 for Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy.

 

Also on the latest episode of In Focus, the Grand Rapids based Migrant Legal Aid organization, specifically director/attorney Teresa Hendricks and attorney Ben O’Hearn, discuss their group’s work to protect migrant workers’ legal rights and to give voice to a sometimes silent portion of our community.

 

The episode will debut Tuesday, Jan. 16 , at 6:30 p.m., and will again air on Thursday, also at 6:30 p.m., and again next week on the same days and times on WKTV channels but all interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal: In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVVideos.

 

 

The entire episode of “WKTV Journal: In Focus” airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel.

Migrant Legal Aid’s 7th Annual Harvest of Justice luncheon honors fair growers and retailers

Luzmita Mendez de Leon (left) with Teresa Hendricks

By Victoria Mullen, WKTV

 

Entrepreneur Luzmita Mendez de Leon shared a heartfelt story during Migrant Legal Aid’s (MLA) 7th Annual Harvest of Justice Luncheon at Versluis Orchards on Sept. 13.

 

Several years ago, Mendez de Leon, an undocumented migrant and a victim of domestic violence, found her pleas for help ignored by several West Michigan agencies. Then she turned to MLA for help.

 

Thanks to MLA’s assistance, Mendez de Leon obtained a U visa. U (nonimmigrant status) visas are set aside for victims of crimes who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse as a result of the crime. 

 

Now, years later, Mendez de Leon is a successful entrepreneur and owner of La Cosinita restaurant and catering company. In fact, she catered this year’s Harvest of Justice Luncheon.

 

“In addition to catering, she delivers 200 lunches every day to migrant camps,” said MLA executive director and lead attorney, Teresa Hendricks.

 

Migrant Legal Aid provides legal services to migrant farmworkers who face substantial barriers to justice. These willing, hardworking, and economical workers are vital to Michigan’s economy, but a migrant family’s life is far from easy. Many work 15-hour days in the hot sun with little or no access to bathrooms or fresh water for drinking and washing. A delay in starting work, a missed hour of work, or one missed paycheck can upset their fragile existence. Worse, the confusion and uncertainty surrounding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and current attitudes toward immigrants in America make a migrant’s life even more fragile.

 

Hendricks and her team advocate on behalf of migrant and seasonal farmworkers in Michigan for basic human dignity, on-the-job and environmental safety, safe housing, health care access, and myriad other needs.

 

And each year, MLA celebrates and honors businesses in the community who treat their workers humanely. Awards are given for Responsible Retailer and Good Grower.

 

As part of the Fair Food Project (FFP), MLA partners with area grocery stores who sign a pledge to buy from growers who treat their workers humanely. FFP is a partnership among farmers, farmworkers, and retail food companies that ensures humane wages and working conditions for the workers who pick fruits and vegetables on participating farms. It harnesses the power of consumer demand to give farmworkers a voice in the workplace, and to eliminate the longstanding abuses that have plagued agriculture for generations.

 

Spartan Nash received the ‘Responsible Retailer Award’ this year — 200 Spartan Nash stories pledged, and 80 independent stores supplied by Spartan Nash also signed pledges.

 

Other awards were given to MLA staff and board members.