(Host) A Vermont Senate committee is considering a bill that would create a farm guest worker program for the estimated 1,500 to 2,000 immigrant workers on Vermont dairy farms.
The bill would create a state identification for the workers and a registry that would allow them to be eligible for state services.
Senator Jeanette White, a democrat from Windham County, is the bill’s sponsor. She told the Senate Agriculture Committee Thursday that there’s already a federal guest worker program for seasonal farm workers and for ski resort employees.
She says immigration is a federal government issue, but Vermont has always been willing to go against the federal government when "it’s the right thing to do."