Trump's immigration crackdown may impact some Maine businesses
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'Our producers are very careful about vetting their workforce to ensure that they all have the necessary and proper documentation if they are coming from outside of the U.S.,' said Eric Venturini, executive director of the Wild Blueberry Commission. 'But I am concerned about a decrease in the agricultural workforce due to shifting immigration policies that could make it more challenging for farmers to get their crops.'
Wild blueberry farms aren't the only businesses statewide that could be facing a labor shortage, compounded by escalating threats of deportation and revoked visas. Agricultural farmers of all types, as well as wreath factories, restaurants, hotels, fisheries, and other businesses have come to rely on the largely Latino migrant and year-round immigrant communities.
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According to the most recent 5-year estimate reported in the
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Among those who employ foreign-born workers is the group of Whitney Family Companies, which owns and operates Whitney Wreath, Whitney's Tri-Town Marina, Machias Glassworks, and Downeast Packaging Solutions, all located in Machias. Owner and CEO David Whitney employs an undisclosed number of seasonal migrant workers at his companies, workers he depends on to supplement his local workforce.
Whitney said he fully supports the Trump administration's tightened immigration policies. In 2011 Whitney's company became the first in the state to sign on to the federal
'We're under tremendous scrutiny, which is all the more reason that I continue to be motivated to follow the letter of the law. Always have,' Whitney said. 'I sleep very well at night.'
But as federal immigration officials ratchet up surveillance around the nation, advocates say many immigrants — even those who are documented —
Along the shores of Englishmen's Bay, sea spray wafts over the wild blueberry fields of Welch Farm in Roque Bluffs, owned and operated for more than a century by Lisa Hanscom's family.
Everyone pitches in on this small but productive farm, including Hanscom's 77-year-old father. But come harvest time, they still rely on a handful of migrant workers to help get the tender berries raked and crated before they rot in the field.
So far this season, Hanscom hasn't heard from the two Mi'kmaq migrant friends from Canada and the young Guatemalan man who she's counted on in past years.
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'The young man was legal, working on his citizenship and everything. But I don't know what that means for me this year, whether he's even going to be around,' Hanscom said.
Hanscom chairs the volunteer Wild Blueberry Commission in addition to running the farm and her full-time job as director of the Washington County Emergency Management Agency. She knows the blueberry business and is used to dealing with unexpected crises. But Hanscom said it's hard for farmers to come up with contingency plans to deal with such a rapidly evolving immigration landscape.
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In early April, the
The Internal Revenue Department also struck
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During an online presentation in February, Patrick Woodcock, the executive director of the Maine Chamber of Commerce, said that employers need to be aware of the potential ramifications on Maine's workforce.
'Regardless of the merits of the polic[ies], we really do want to ensure that employers understand how to be in compliance,' Woodcock said. 'There may be employees that were authorized to work that may be affected by changes and may not be authorized to work now or in the coming months.'
The Trump administration has signaled that it is considering eliminating, scaling back, or revoking some visas that employers have relied on to augment their work teams for decades.
The Monitor
reached out to more than a dozen business owners and managers to gauge concerns. Half of those responded, with only one business expressing concern about losing the visa program it uses to supplement its summer staff of about 30.
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Victor Trafford, who owns the Fishermen's Wharf Inn and Restaurant in Lubec, said the business typically employs 4-6 young women, mostly from Eastern Europe, each summer through the J-1 visa Exchange Student Worker Program.
'I think we're going to be okay. But laws can change — can change without notice,' Trafford said.
The Trump administration has also revoked the visas of hundreds of international students and detained roughly a dozen others from college campuses across the US, often without any warning or recourse for appeals, according to a recent report by the
A J-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows students to study, work, or conduct research in the United States for three months or longer, depending on the visa. It's one of roughly 200 types of U.S.
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But the visas that most impact farmers seeking to boost their local workforce are H-2A agricultural visas, which allow foreign workers to come to the U.S. to perform seasonal agricultural labor. Employers in the service industry, meanwhile, often rely on H-2B visas, which allow workers to temporarily come to the U.S. to perform non-agricultural services or labor, such as hotel and restaurant work.
Last year in Maine, 41 agricultural companies each received anywhere between one and 140 H-2A visa approvals. Cherryfield Foods, Inc., a grower and producer of wild blueberries located in Cherryfield and Machias, received the most agricultural visas of any business in the state, a total of 140 H-2A visas.
A 2015 Maine Department of Labor 2015 survey, the most recent report available from the Department, found that 56 percent of migrant farm workers were from Mexico, with others from Haiti, Canada, Honduras, El Salvador, and the Philippines. A 2019 University Maine report found that Maine's migrant workers also come from Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Guatemala and from elsewhere in the United States.
Ricker Hill Orchards in Turner was granted 33 agricultural visas in 2024. The tenth-generation small farming business has survived 200 years of challenges, including a slumping local workforce that began during WWII.
Although it's bureaucratically burdensome and costly — north of $80,000 some seasons — company president Harry Ricker and his wife Nancy, who is the CFO, said H-2A visas have helped them hang on to the farm, allowing them to bring in dozens of hard-working apple pickers each harvest season, mostly from Jamaica.
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'There are a lot less local people that want to do it, so we have to have this program,' Ricker said. 'Without it, we'll just be out of the industry. We go away.'
Since businesses foot the bill for all visa fees, travel, and lodging, Ricker sees no reason for the administration to tamper with the H-2A visa program.
Some critics, however, including authors of the controversial
But H-2A visa advocates point to data that show persistent workforce shortages and the federal laws that tightly regulate migrant worker pay to make sure it doesn't undercut the local market.
Employers must recruit U.S. workers, including posting jobs on the US Department of Labor's
The authors of Project 2025 also have the H-2B non-agricultural temporary visa program in their sights, calling for the elimination of the visas that a host of industries depend on, from tourism and hospitality to restaurants and services at some national parks.
The H-2B program is capped at 66,000 each year for the entire country, with an additional number of visas typically added to the cap each year, including an extra 64,716 for 2025 announced earlier this month.
Although Trump recently signaled support for businesses that rely on H-2B temporary workers, the release of the supplemental visas was delayed this year. According to a recent U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
There are never enough visas allotted to meet demand, requiring employers to compete in a lottery system, according to Kathryn Ference, director of Workforce Development for the Maine Tourism Association.
'The programs are incredibly important to the [tourism] industry in Maine and making sure that we have what we need to make this industry run, which brings so much economic value to the state, adding $16.3 billion to the Maine economy in 2023, [is very important.]' Ference said.
Downeast's largest tourism draw, Acadia National Park, doesn't use any visa-permitted workers at the park. The seasonal National Park Service jobs all have U.S. Citizenship as a condition of employment, according to Perrin Doniger, vice president of communications and marketing for the Friends of Acadia.
But in neighboring Bar Harbor, 99 lodging facilities and 66 restaurants rely heavily on H-2B visas, including five of the six Witham Family Hotels, said Managing Director Jeremy Dougherty .
According to Dougherty, the Witham chain employs roughly 500 people, with about 200 at the Bar Harbor Inn alone, including about 82 foreign nationals working on temporary H-2B visas. Dougherty said many are from Jamaica, as well as El Salvador, Haiti, and other countries. He said they are some of his best workers and that some have returned for 15 summers — if they are lucky enough to secure a visa lottery slot.
Dougherty said the visa process is arduous for both the company's human resource department and for the migrant workers, requiring months of applications, interviews, waiting, and then travel and housing arrangements before they even get to their first day on the job. This year, he said, some of the migrants are a little nervous, and not just about the possibility of being confronted by ICE agents.
'Some of our staff have asked how to best handle it if somebody were to say something that would maybe be inappropriate,' Dougherty said. 'In the last few years, people are a little more emboldened to say things to people of color than they used to, and it just puts us more on alert, a little more protective, you know, like protective parents.'
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USA Today
16 hours ago
- USA Today
Fort Bliss once housed refugees, now set for largest ICE deportation center
President Donald Trump's administration is planning on using the Fort Bliss Army Post as a mega-hub for the deportation of immigrants in the United States. The El Paso military post will hold up to 5,000 migrants scheduled for deportation, according to the latest version of the plan. The plan was first made public during a former U.S. Secretary of the Army's visit to Fort Bliss and El Paso in late March 2025. The Department of Defense announced the awarding of a contract on July 18 to establish and operate the detention center for single adults targeted for deportation. The detention facility is scheduled to be completed by Sept. 30, 2027. The contract was awarded to Acquisition Logistics LLC, of Henrico, Virginia. The facility will be just off of Montana Avenue behind the CBP facility on the periphery of Fort Bliss' federal land. The land is the site known as Site Monitor, according to Fort Bliss Deputy Committee General Paul Krattiger. In the past, the post has housed refugees, prisoners of war and been used for a Japanese internment camp during WWII. The Trump administration's intent to use the Army post for immigration would be the first time in history that the Army post has been used to detain immigrants for deportation. Fort Bliss is the largest single employer in El Paso, with the Army Post employing nearly 50 thousand residents, according to the city of El Paso. The Army Post contributes around $24 billion to the economy. Here is what you need to know about the history of refugees and internees housed at Fort Bliss: Afghan refugees — 2021 In response to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, Fort Bliss served as a temporary housing location for Afghan refugees as part of "Operation Allies Welcome," with Doña Ana Village housing thousands of evacuees before their resettlement across the United States. Aug. 25, 2021 — Afghan refugees begin arriving at Fort Bliss after the Taliban toppled the government of Afghanistan. Oct. 7, 2021 — Refugees housed at the post increase to nearly 10,000. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, tours the refugee camp as part of a congressional delegation. Jan 3, 2022 — The roughly 1,100 refugees housed at Doña Ana Village have now found permanent homes around the United States. More: Trump's first 30 days: Deported Guatemalan migrants suffer, White House touts progress Unaccompanied migrant children — 2021 Fort Bliss served as an emergency intake site for unaccompanied migrant children in 2021. The facilities were opened by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Refugee Resettlement. This was not the first time that the Army post was considered to house an unaccompanied minor. There were discussions in the first Trump administration to house unaccompanied minors on the post. March 23, 2021 — The Biden administration announces that the Department of Defense received a request from Department of Health and Human Services to expand the posts available to house unaccompanied minors arriving at the border, including the use of Fort Bliss. March 30, 2021 — The emergency intake site at Fort Bliss opens, receiving 500 migrant boys. It is designed to provide beds for up to 5,000 unaccompanied boys and girls 13-17 years of age. More: US Rep. Veronica Escobar visits immigration detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Mid-May 2021 — Concern is raised by insiders at the Fort Bliss intake site about the conditions children face. The conditions were called "unacceptable" by the "volunteers" from federal agencies and local non-governmental organizations. Aug. 31, 2021 — There are 2,301 minors housed at the post, according to HHS. Sept. 2021 — The company contracted to manage the shelter, Rapid Deployment Inc, holds a contract for nearly 1 billion, in spite of accusations of mismanagement of the site. May 30, 2022 — The facility is transformed into a influx care, providing shelter for boys and girls arriving at the border. Sept. 2023 — The facility is downsized and eventually closed. Unaccompanied minor migrants — 2016 Fort Bliss opened a shelter for unaccompanied migrant children at the post's Doña Ana Range Complex near Chaparral, New Mexico. The facility opened at a time when the administration of President Barack Obama saw a sharp increase in the arrival of unaccompanied children from Central America at the border. The shelter can house up to 3,200 children between the ages of 13 and 17. Sept. 6, 2016 — The temporary shelter at Fort Bliss opens amidst a sharp increase in unaccompanied migrants arriving at the border. Nearly 500 children arrive in the first weeks. The location at Fort Bliss was chosen because of its proximity to the border and other permanent shelters. March 1, 2017 — The facility at Fort Bliss is closed by the Trump administration because of a decrease in the arrival of unaccompanied minors at the southern border. The facility closes a month ahead of schedule. World War II internment camps — 1942 Fort Bliss became the site of an internment camp following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941. The exact date of the opening of the camp is unknown, but the camp likely opened in February or March 1942, according to the Texas Historical Commission. The first and second generation Japanese immigrants were held at the Army post under the U.S. Alien Enemies Act of 1798 as they awaited a hearing. The camp was located at the northern edge of Fort Bliss' Logan Heights. February-March 1942 — Internment camp at Fort Bliss opens. May 2, 1942 — 29 Japanese, 18 Germans and nine Italians are held in the internment camp at Fort Bliss, according to the Texas Historical Commission. All were likely from western states, with a number of Japanese Americans being from New Mexico. November 1942 — The internment camp at Fort Bliss is closed. Exile of President Victoriano Huerta — 1915 General Victoriano Huerta carried out a coup d'état against Mexican President Francisco Madero in February 1913. He held power until July 1914, when he was forced to resign and went into exile, a period marked by the former president's efforts to regain power. July 15, 1914 — Huerta resigns the presidency. July 20, 1914 — He goes into exile from Mexico. He leaves the country aboard a German cruiser, the Dresden. April 12, 1915 — Huerta arrives in the United States, intent on carrying out a coup d'état in Mexico to reclaim the presidency. More: Trump's military deportation flights cost more, carry fewer migrants June 26, 1915 — Huerta is arrested by U.S. Army Colonel George H. Morgan, who was accompanied by 25 soldiers and two U.S. marshals at the train station at Newman, New Mexico. He is charged with sedition and imprisoned at Fort Bliss because of security concerns. June 27, 1915 — The former Mexican president is released after paying a $15,000 bond. But he spends the next few months in and out of Fort Bliss. December 8, 1915 — Huerta is moved to Fort Bliss because of concerns that he would flee to Mexico. Jan. 13, 1916 — The former Mexican president dies of either cancer or cirrhosis of the liver in prison at Fort Bliss. He is buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in El Paso. Mexican Revolution Refugees — 1914 Fort Bliss housed nearly 6,000 Mexican refugees at the height of the country's revolutionary war after Francisco 'Pancho' Villa attacked the capital of the State of Chihuahua. The total cost for the U.S. government was $740,000, according to John Hamilton, the former command historian for the Air Defense Artillery at Fort Bliss. Nov. 5, 1913 — The revolutionary forces of Francisco "Pancho" Villa attack Chihuahua City, Mexico, forcing thousands of Mexican army troops and their families, and other refugees to flee towards Ojinaga on the U.S.-Mexico border. Jan. 10, 1914 — Battle of Ojinaga ends with Villa's troops capturing the city. Around 6,000 refugees cross the border to Presidio, Texas, where they surrender to Maj. M. M. McNamee and the U.S. 15th Cavalry. Jan. 14, 1914 — The Mexican refugees begin walking the 67 miles to Marfa, Texas in harsh weather, where they were to be placed on trains to head towards Fort Bliss. More: Suspects detained in killing of Mexican immigration agent Jan. 20, 1914 — Mexican refugees arrive in Marfa, Texas, where they board trains for Fort Bliss. Jan. 22, 1914 — All refugees arrive in Fort Bliss camp. There are nearly 600 tents brought to the 48-acre refugee encampment, which is encircled by barbed wire. Refugees receive food and medical attention, including vaccinations for smallpox and typhoid. April 18, 1914 — Two Mexican refugees are shot by soldiers during unrest fueled by anger over the Tampico incident — The incident involved the detention of U.S. soldiers by Mexican forces and the subsequent occupation of Veracruz by the U.S. One, Jesus Pallares, was shot while trying to flee the camp while the other, Jesus Zarco, was shot breaking lights in the encampment. Pallares would die from his wounds. April 27, 1914 — War Department issues orders to move the refugees to Fort Wingate, New Mexico. May 1914 — Refugees are transferred to an encampment at Fort Wingate, New Mexico. September 1914 — Some refugees began returning to Mexico. Mormon Refugees — 1912 Mormons began forming colonies in northern Mexico in the late 1800s, settling in the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora. But as the Mexican revolution exploded in 1910, increasing anti-American sentiment put pressure on the Mormon settlers. Fort Bliss in 1912 was involved in humanitarian service to Latter-day Saint refugees displaced by the early years of the Mexican Revolution. The refugees were never housed on the post. The Mormon mass exodus began in the summer of 1912. More: 'They're part of El Paso now': Desert bighorn sheep return to Franklin Mountains July 29, 1912 — 500 Mormon refugees crossed over the border into El Paso at midnight, marking the beginning of the exodus from Mexico due to threats. Another 2,000 Mormon refugees followed. July 30, 1912 — The 22nd Infantry Band performs in honor of the Mormons and other refugees in Cleveland Square. At the centennial program, the military post's 1st Armored Division Band performed some of the same selections that the post's band had entertained the refugees with back in 1912. Aug. 2, 1912 — Latter-day Saint leaders issue a letter thanking the citizens of El Paso for their welcome to the border town. 1848 — Fort Bliss is established in El Paso Jeff Abbott covers the border for the El Paso Times and can be reached at:jdabbott@ on Twitter or @ on Bluesky.
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
Fresno area school founder charged for using public funds to pay lavish expenses
A former Madera charter school executive faces federal charges two years after an audit tied him to the misuse of public dollars. The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it is charging Nicolas Retana, 67, with one count of embezzling money from a program that receives federal funding. His indictment was unsealed and Retana was arraigned Monday, according to a news release. Retana co-founded Ezequiel Tafoya Alvarado Academy in Madera in 2005 and served as its executive director until he was fired in 2020 following allegations he physically abused students. The school, which serves students in grades K-8, is now called Liberty Charter School. Two years ago, an audit of the school concluded $1.06 million in public funds were potentially misused between 2016 and 2020, and that Retana was tied to the alleged fraud. The FBI launched an investigation of Retana after the audit. Now, the federal government says Retana 'concealed the misused funds by mislabeling the expenses in school accounting records and misrepresenting the expenses when asked.' 'For example, Retana purchased new Ford F-150 Raptor pickup trucks for his two sons using school funds,' the federal news release says. 'He also had a personal relationship with a self-proclaimed sex worker turned relationship coach whom he paid $12,000 using school funds.' The 2023 audit of the school also found nearly $38,000 went to Retana's daughter's higher education expenses. If Retana is convicted of embezzlement, he faces 'a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine,' the federal news release says. John McClure, executive director of Liberty Charter School, said in a Wednesday statement to The Bee that it was the school that requested an investigation by law enforcement at the outset of the case. 'We want to thank both the FBI and Department of Justice for their hard work on this case,' McClure said in an email. 'The charter school and its board will continue to cooperate with law enforcement as this case moves forward.' The Bee's attempts to reach Retana on Tuesday were unsuccessful. But in a 2023 phone interview with The Bee, Retana said the audit report's findings were simply 'not true.' He added that the motivation behind the report was racism against him because he is a Chicano who has spoken out about the lack of effort schools put into Latino students. 'There's no ifs, ands or buts about it,' Retana told The Bee in 2023. 'I've always been a target.' 2023 audit: Wild spending at Madera school In 2023, when Liberty Charter School was still called Ezequiel Tafoya Alvarado Academy, McClure said he had filed a police report related to some of the audit's findings three years prior. 'I can assure you that these issues all stopped when I took over as Executive Director and will never happen again,' McClure said at the time. The Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team, the state's school finance watchdog that provides financial guidance to schools, initiated the audit in 2021. The auditors found charter funds were used to make payments totaling $37,563 to colleges between 2016 and 2018. They also found Retana's daughter held several communications positions at the school before being hired as a teacher in 2016. 'Interviews with charter staff indicated that these charges were for (Retana's) daughter's college education,' the audit report said. The report also said Retana's two sons were hired as custodians and later became the school's night security officers. Both received gas cards from the charter and both were issued Ford F-150 Raptors. The audit found that both of them crashed their trucks – each of which cost about $40,000 – and that one of them used his in a hit-and-run. An invoice found in the report also showed the school's board approved a $12,000 payment to an 'Associate #2' for six '8th Grade Life Coaching Workshops' in 2019. The report stated that interviews with staff revealed Retana may have been romantically involved with the life coach, though he denied that in his 2023 interview with The Bee. The report found that the life coach did not possess any type of teaching or counseling credential in California. But Retana said a credentialed counselor is not what he was going for. 'I just wanted someone who was going to be able to do to deal with the eighth-graders, that they would like and that they could work with,' he told The Bee in 2023. Solve the daily Crossword
Los Angeles Times
18 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Anaheim Union High School District Supt. Michael Matsuda announces retirement
With a final graduation season behind him, Michael Matsuda decided it time to turn the tassel on his own tenure as superintendent of the Anaheim Union High School District. Matsuda announced his retirement in a video message to the district, which serves roughly 26,000 students, 70% of whom are Latino, across campuses in Anaheim, Cypress, La Palma, Stanton and Buena Park. 'Like all the thousands of students who have graduated through their own capstones, their own reflections on life, I am ready to move on with the next stage of my journey,' he said in brief remarks. Matsuda's 11-year run as AUHSD superintendent will conclude at the end of the year. 'This is not the end,' he added. 'It is only the beginning.' Described as an 'unexpected' pick when first appointed superintendent in 2014, Matsuda touted 21 years of experience at AUHSD, mostly as a teacher at Orangeview Junior High School and the prestigious Oxford Academy before taking on an administrative role overseeing professional development. Some trustees at the time expressed reservations with Matsuda's lack of administrative experience before a 4-1 vote appointed him to lead the district. During his time as superintendent, Matsuda became synonymous with a number of branded educational efforts. AUHSD became the first California Democracy School District and secured $26 million for community schools. The 'Anaheim Pledge' program also provides free tuition for district graduates to attend Cypress and Fullerton College as freshmen with the intent to transfer to UC Irvine. In making students career ready, AUHSD partnered with Google in offering career certificates through several tech courses. The AUHSD issued a news release calling Matsuda's tenure 'a defining era of innovation, student empowerment and national recognition' for the district. 'Superintendent Matsuda's legacy is one of courage, vision and relentless dedication to equity, innovation and student voice,' said Brian O'Neal, president of the board of trustees. It was O'Neal who cast the sole vote against the superintendent's 2014 appointment, but he had long since retired his skepticism. 'His leadership has not only reshaped AUHSD but has served as a national model for the future of public education.' Trustee Annemarie Randle-Trejo added that Matsuda's 'impact will be felt for generations.' But toward the end of his tenure, AUHSD faced a serious challenge in the form of declining enrollment, an increasingly common post-pandemic conundrum for campuses statewide. The district has shed about 5,500 students in Matsuda's time as superintendent, a contraction that is expected to double by the 2028-29 school year. Citing sagging enrollment stats, trustees initially approved more than 100 teacher layoffs last year before protests prompted Matsuda and district officials to work with the teachers' union on a plan to save jobs through alternative budget cuts. Though teacher layoffs were averted, a budget presentation given during a June board meeting made clear that fiscal challenges still lie ahead. Projected budget deficits are expected to spike from a modest $300,000 this school year to $47 million by 2028-29. The Trump administration's push to withhold significant federal education grants has also thrown a wrench into budgeting, with the district considering only $15 million of $41 million in federal revenue to be 'certain.' How AUHSD grapples with staying solvent going forward is a pressing matter for Matsuda's successor. The trustees are conducting an internal search for Matsuda's replacement, a recruitment process with an application deadline set for this coming Monday, July 28. In soliciting input, trustees have invited community members to participate in a multilingual survey regarding the selection of a new superintendent, with their comments also due Monday. The tight turnaround, which comes while school is out for summer, has raised concerns for some in the community. 'There's no rush,' said Germaine Neumann-Chau, a former district parent and freelance journalist. 'Our school district is limiting our opportunity to attract the best candidates. Are we looking at what is best for the district or continuing a favored agenda?' Dulce Sotelo, a district parent, called the recruitment process 'rushed.' She learned of Matsuda's retirement through his video message and plans on filing out the survey soon but wants more transparency overall. 'Is our voice really going to be considered?' Sotelo asked. 'What if there's someone with incredible experience, who can understand our students and they can't apply because they're only doing it internally?'
