UI students join national vigil for farmworkers

Several students at the University of Idaho attended a candlelight vigil on campus calling for immigration protections for U.S. farmworkers.

The vigil Tuesday was part of a nationwide day of action, with events in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and New York.

Jessica Betancourt, Idaho Immigration Campaign coordinator at United Farm Workers, hopes the federal government will take action on a legal pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers.

“Having immigration reform is beneficial for all of us and for the economy,” she said. “I think the least we can do for farmworkers is to make sure they have protections and hopefully, in the future, a pathway to citizenship.”

Before Betancourt graduated from the University of Idaho, she spent five years working in agricultural fields herself.

Her dad worked in the fields for more than 20 years.

“There’s a big population of workers who come from Mexico or Central America, and they think that because they come from another country, they don’t have rights,” Betancourt said. “That’s not the case. Unfortunately, employers take advantage of that.”

Formed in 1962 by labor leaders Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, the UFW is the country’s largest farmworkers union.

The UFW Foundation is urging the Senate to pass President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill before Christmas. According to a news release from the foundation, the bill would provide work permits and deportation protection to immigrants, including farmworkers.

At the vigil, Betancourt led the group in reciting a “Prayer of the farmworkers’ Struggle,” written by Chavez.

“Let us remember those who have died for justice, for they have given us life,” the prayer’s final lines read. “Help us love even those who hate us, so we can change the world.”

The UFW shared a photo to Facebook on Monday of a farmworker named Eriberto harvesting apples at piece-rate. Accompanying the post was a #WeFeedYou hashtag.

“He hand picks every apple to fill his 30-40 pound bag,” the post stated. “It will take about 25 bags or more to fill a bin. He will earn just around $1 for each bag depending on the variety.”

There are 11 million undocumented migrants in the country, according to the UFW, and about 2.4 million of them are farmworkers.

Beatrice Santiago, a recent graduate of the University of Idaho, began working the fields every summer with her parents when she was just 13 years old. She’s passionate about advocating for immigration reform, better wages and protections for farmworkers from employer abuse.

“When talking about farmworkers, it’s important to realize they’re the ones putting food on our tables – everything from vegetables to beer to dairy,” Santiago said. “Because of their work, we have all those products available at the store.”

Santiago said UI’s College Assistance Migrant Program is helping first generation college students succeed in their academic endeavors.

She starts a new job with the program in January as a Student Action with farmworkers alumni organizer.

“Like Jessica said, our parents didn’t go to college and they didn’t have the opportunities that we do,” Santiago said. “It’s important for us to raise our voices and talk about these issues that I think many Americans aren’t aware of.”

Palermo can be reached at apalermo@dnews.com or on Twitter @apalermotweets.