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Migrant Matrix helps agencies understand changing workforce
By TRACY X. MIGUEL
NAPLES
— As the United State’s economy changes, so too does it’s undocumented
and migrant farmworker culture.
Area government agencies that serve migrants learned Friday how to
understand today’s workforce at the fifth Migrant Matrix at Bethel
Assembly of God.
When the United States has a poor economy, the government sends migrants
back to their home countries, said Sister Maureen Kelleher, an attorney
for Legal Aid Services of Collier County.
Yet, visa processing is no easy operation for immigrants.
Kelleher spoke to about 170 people, representing 40 agencies from around
Florida that serve migrants.
Kelleher reviewed where John McCain and Barack Obama stand on illegal
immigration.
Both talk about speaking English and paying fines, she said.
McCain’s priority was securing borders with technology, she said.
Obama has championed a proposal to crack down on employers that hire
undocumented immigrants.
Kelleher spoke about how undocumented immigrants could become legal
residents.
She addressed the current situation of people living and working in the
U.S.
The United States needs a legal channel for workers, she said.
If the government requires undocumented workers to come out of the
shadows and earn legal status, Kelleher said the country would need to
restore a rule of law.
Kelleher stressed the importance of providing fair and lawful ways for
American businesses to hire the much-needed immigrant workers, under the
American Immigration Lawyers Association on immigration reform.
During the daylong workshop, hosted by the Collier County Health
Department, titled “A Map to Decipher Farmworker Services and
Regulations,” speakers discussed a variety of topics, including the
current immigration issues and human trafficking in Southwest Florida.
Nancy Freeze, the Immokalee director of the Health Department, said the
event informs agencies of the available resources for workers.
Among attendees was Dora Herrera, a Collier County School District home
school liaison for Pre-K.
“It’s a lot of good information that we need to put out there for our
parents and children,” Herrera said. It was her second year attending
the seminar.
Earlier Friday, Coalition of Immokalee Workers member Lucas Benitez
spoke about human trafficking and modern slavery.
Benitez told the crowd what the coalition, a worker-led community
organization based in Immokalee has done in the past in tackling
modern-day slavery and human rights abuses in Florida’s fields.
In the past decade, the coalition helped investigate and assist with
cases, including one that helped prosecute six slavery cases that freed
more than 1,000 workers. And there are other cases that are yet to be
prosecuted, Benitez said.
“So many industries take advantage of workers and exploit them,” he
said.
The coalition is working with various agencies, including law
enforcement, government, clinics and growers.
Many agencies can help combat slavery, Benitez said. Anti-slavery
coordinator Laura Germino assisted in translating what Benitez said to
English.
Among its efforts, the group has successfully targeted major fast-food
corporations, demanding an end to modern slavery, including Burger King,
McDonalds and Yum! Brands, the owner of Taco Bell.
Once again, the coalition’s Campaign for Fair Food is underway. The
coalition wants growers to agree to pay a penny more per pound for
tomatoes it purchases from Florida, create a code of conduct and improve
wages.
“It’s the overall degrading of workers that allows labor abuses,”
Germino said.
Many times, workers are afraid to speak because of their legal status,
Benitez said. But they need to know that there are laws that protect
them.
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