Migrant Justice Justicia Migrante

October 3rd marked the ninth anniversary of the first Milk with Dignity agreement and the launch of the groundbreaking worker-driven human rights program. Through Milk with Dignity, hundreds of dairy workers have won unparalleled protections, and farms have received millions of dollars to invest in higher wages and improved labor and housing conditions. The program’s impact has been nothing short of transformational.

Farmworkers celebrated the occasion with a spirited action pushing for the expansion of the program. Workers and allies picketed Hannaford Supermarket, calling on the grocery chain to join Milk with Dignity and source its store-brand milk from farms that protect workers’ rights. Picketers urged consumers not to shop at the store, resulting in many potential customers turning away and a nearly-empty parking lot throughout the protest. The successful action brought out hundreds of supporters – and brought a march past security barricades and right to the front door of the store.

Read more to see the full photo report and the exciting announcement about the next upcoming action!

In June, we shared the news that thousands of workers had begun to jointly bargain a new contract with the state’s largest employer, the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC). Among their contract articles is a proposal that UVMMC join the Milk with Dignity Program and buy its dairy products from farms that treat workers fairly.

Over the past several months, farmworkers have joined with hospital workers in the fight for a fair contract. Migrant Justice leaders have spoken at press conferences, joined union members in marches and rallies, and presented on the Milk with Dignity Program at contract negotiation sessions. This inspirational, cross-sectoral worker solidarity has inspired other labor unions to consider similar Milk with Dignity demands and has generated positive press coverage.

Last week, however, hospital executives presented a “last, best, and final” offer to workers that would worsen current safe staffing processes and job security protections – and that continues to leave Milk with Dignity out of the contract. Today, October 2nd, the 3,300 support staff and technical workers at the hospital announced that they have authorized a strike.

Take a minute to send an email to hospital executives letting them know that you stand with healthcare workers!

Read more to learn more creative strategies that farmworkers are using to expand the Milk with Dignity Program!

On October 3rd, farmworkers will celebrate the anniversary of the Milk with Dignity Program by picketing Hannaford Supermarket and urging customers not to shop at the store. Today, campaign supporters are calling the company headquarters to show their support for farmworkers and demand Milk with Dignity.

Throughout the campaign, thousands have called Hannaford President Mike Vail to urge the company to protect farmworker rights. These calls – and the pressure put on the company by farmworkers and consumers organizing together – are having an impact. Add your voice and make a call today!

End-of-day update: over 260 calls made to Hannaford!

On 10/3, we will celebrate the nine-year anniversary of Ben & Jerry’s joining the Milk with Dignity Program. For nearly a decade, the program has safeguarded the human rights of hundreds of dairy workers in Vermont and New York, and reinvested millions of dollars into ensuring that the farms improve conditions to meet the worker-authored Code of Conduct. This year, we celebrate Vermont Way Foods joining Ben & Jerry’s to become Milk with Dignity’s second participating buyer!

Hannaford Supermarket now has the opportunity to follow others’ lead and join the Milk with Dignity Program. For years, the grocery chain has failed to join the program while continuing to profit from the abuses in its supply chain. Workers’ message is loud and clear: Hannaford, it’s time to get with the Program! 

Read more for event details!

Detentions and deportations continue to have a devastating impact on immigrant communities across Vermont and around the country. Through our emergency hotline and robust detention support work, Migrant Justice operates as the principal first responder when a community member is snatched off the street and thrown into detention by the rogue federal agents patrolling our state.

While the expansion of the machinery of mass deportation in much of the country is aided by the collusion of local police, Vermont’s Fair and Impartial Policing Policy – won and maintained through years of dedicated and courageous organizing – acts as a barrier between local law enforcement and federal deportation agencies. When officers violate that policy, we must speak out loudly to demand accountability and ensure that such violations are not repeated.

Read more about the fight to prevent immigration detentions in Vermont – and to free those who are detained.

On September 4th, dozens of Vermont farmworkers and allies picketed outside of Ahold Delhaize’s US headquarters in Quincy, MA, to demand Milk with Dignity. As the parent company of Hannaford Supermarket, the $100 billion grocery conglomerate has the power to root out the human rights abuses in its dairy supply chain by joining the worker-led Milk with Dignity Program.

Alongside students and faith leaders from around New England, farmworker leader Maribel reminded Hannaford of the opportunity that they have to make real change in the dairy industry:

Hannaford, we’re bringing you the solution to the abuses in your supply chain! Joining Milk with Dignity is a real solution, not like the false ones you’ve tried. I’m living proof of the real change that comes with joining the Program. So many farmworkers can and should benefit from Milk with Dignity.

Read more for the full photo-report.

In May, we shared the news that the National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct in the Netherlands moved forward our international human rights complaint against Hannaford Supermarket’s parent company, Ahold Delhaize. As we prepare to sit down for mediated dialogue regarding abuses in the company’s dairy supply chain, farmworkers continue to take action calling on the multinational corporation to join the Milk with Dignity Program. 

On 9/4 at 1pm, join farmworkers at Ahold’s USA headquarters in Quincy, MA to demand Milk with Dignity!

Read more to get the full details of the march and RSVP to save your seat on the vans!

For years, Alex Jimenez worked on dairy farms in Franklin County, Vermont. On July 19th, he was the passenger in a car driving to his farm. Three weeks later, Alex has been deported to Mexico, separated from his partner and family members in Vermont.

Alex’s deportation is the result of Chittenden County Sheriff Deputy Scott Costella’s decision to turn a routine traffic stop into an immigration detention. After pulling over the car for lack of a front license plate, Costella requested Border Patrol’s presence at the stop then aided in the federal agents’ detention of Alex, violating Vermont’s Fair and Impartial Policing Policy.

Following the traffic stop, and directly after speaking with Alex and the driver, Costella retrieved his personal cellphone from his cruiser and texted the location of the stop to a group of Border Patrol agents, writing: “Need one of you.”

Fifteen minutes later, two Border Patrol agents arrived on the scene and interrogated Alex and the driver. As federal officers began to detain Jimenez, Costella went to their aid, holding Alex as the agents handcuffed and led him away. He then turned off his body camera and appears to have conversed with agents for the next ten minutes. After helping them detain Alex, Costella offered to buy the Border Patrol agents lunch at Subway.

Read more to get the full story and see evidence of the Chittenden Sheriff’s Office’s collaboration with Border Patrol.

Since the start of 2026, ICE and Border Patrol have shot at least 20 people. Last week, agents shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston. On July 13th, agents killed Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, as his 3-year-old daughter watched.

The latest ICE killings reveal the violence and brutality inherent in the machinery of mass deportation. ICE and Border Patrol are working exactly as intended: brutalizing people, terrorizing communities, and separating families. This violence is at work in Vermont, where nearly 150 people have been detained since the start of the Trump administration, including five in the past week.

On Thursday in Vermont, immigrants and allies will rally to say “¡Ya basta!” No more killings; not one more deportation; ICE out! We will join together to honor the dead and fight for the living.

The machinery of mass deportation continues to tear apart families and terrorize communities. Even as the daily abuses of ICE fall out of the headlines, the pace of detentions continues to rise, with over 10,000 immigrants detained over the span of a recent five day period.

This past legislative session, we brought the fight against the deportation machine to the Vermont legislature. From January through May, the immigrant leaders of Migrant Justice were a constant presence in the halls of the State House. We worked in coalition with organizations from around Vermont to bolster state protections for immigrants against the federal government’s attacks.

Read more for the full legislative recap!