The Mexican Migrant Affair
From James Donahue’s Journal
One day the Detroit Free Press published a front page expose on the ill treatment of Mexican migrant farm workers on fruit and vegetable farms operating in Southwest Michigan. It was a story generated in the Gazette’s back yard and the editors went a little crazy to think that we were “scooped” on a story like that. Because I had worked at Benton Harbor and was familiar with the area, I was assigned to go into the field and come back with our own version of the story.
Those were the days when entire families banned together, coming north from Mexico to follow the harvest on crop and fruit farms all across the United States. When the harvest was over they returned to their homes in Mexico.
I visited some of the farms listed in the Free Press story and found that some of what the story stated was true. The workers were staying at night in very basic shacks without indoor plumbing, electricity or basic conveniences. Some lacked screens on the windows so they were being bitten by mosquitoes and pestered by flies. They slept on old smelly mattresses and were lucky to have a chair to sit on when they ate their meals. Other farms offered slightly better accommodations.
When I got into the field and began talking to the migrant families, I found that many of them were very upset about the Free Press story and the fact that it had triggered proposed legislation in Lansing that would force farmers to provide housing with hot and cold running water, indoor toilets, windows and doors with screens, and adequate furnishings. The crop farmers said that if they were forced to spend the money required to meet such conditions, they would shift to mechanical harvesting equipment.
Some of the farmers were already using machines to pick blueberries, shake cherries, plums and other fruit from trees, and one farmer was testing a device that would cut and stack asparagus like farmers once cut grain and put it in shocks. They said they hadn’t gone to this machinery because it was still cost effective to hire migrant labor. The proposed legislation, however, would bring an end to summer migrant workers in Michigan.
One man, who operated a radio and television repair business in Mexico, said he and his family came to the farms in Michigan each summer because they made good money and it was like a vacation for them. He said they didn’t mind living in rough conditions because it was like camping out.
I talked to a church supported mission service for the migrants that echoed this man’s feelings. The pastor I spoke with said all of the migrants were afraid they were going to lose their jobs over this new development.
I spoke with a large migrant family that was traveling around in two late model trucks. This family was picking melons on a large crop farm. They said they liked the way of life they had because they were collectively making more money than they ever could make in Mexico. The spokesman for the family said they were clearing about $300 a day, which was good money for them.
I was at the melon farm at about supper time. The farmer invited me into the house for a treat. He sliced one of the fresh melons from his field, scooped out the seed in the center, and filled it with vanilla ice cream. He said that all of the farmers were upset about the Free Press story and all he asked was that I write the real story of what was happening on the crop farms.
I did just that. I reported both sides of the story, as I have done all of my life. True, some of the migrant families were forced to stay in relatively deplorable conditions while working on these farms. But they were only there for a few brief days before moving on, and they were not complaining. And they were afraid of losing their summer employment. It was a system that had worked well for both farmers and Mexican migrants for many years.
My story struck a nerve in the bleeding heart sector of Kalamazoo. The newspaper and I personally received a flood of hate mail for having written such a story. My editor backed down and ran a public apology. I was subsequently blackballed from ever getting a good story assignment again. It appeared that I was doomed to be stuck with music and religion stories, where I could do no political harm in that “All American City” ever again.
Of course it should be noted that everything turned out exactly as the migrant families and crop farmers said they would. The state legislators passed their laws. The farmers invested in harvesting equipment and the sight of migrant workers on Michigan farms dwindled drastically. Today the migrant families have become a major political issue.
From James Donahue’s Journal
One day the Detroit Free Press published a front page expose on the ill treatment of Mexican migrant farm workers on fruit and vegetable farms operating in Southwest Michigan. It was a story generated in the Gazette’s back yard and the editors went a little crazy to think that we were “scooped” on a story like that. Because I had worked at Benton Harbor and was familiar with the area, I was assigned to go into the field and come back with our own version of the story.
Those were the days when entire families banned together, coming north from Mexico to follow the harvest on crop and fruit farms all across the United States. When the harvest was over they returned to their homes in Mexico.
I visited some of the farms listed in the Free Press story and found that some of what the story stated was true. The workers were staying at night in very basic shacks without indoor plumbing, electricity or basic conveniences. Some lacked screens on the windows so they were being bitten by mosquitoes and pestered by flies. They slept on old smelly mattresses and were lucky to have a chair to sit on when they ate their meals. Other farms offered slightly better accommodations.
When I got into the field and began talking to the migrant families, I found that many of them were very upset about the Free Press story and the fact that it had triggered proposed legislation in Lansing that would force farmers to provide housing with hot and cold running water, indoor toilets, windows and doors with screens, and adequate furnishings. The crop farmers said that if they were forced to spend the money required to meet such conditions, they would shift to mechanical harvesting equipment.
Some of the farmers were already using machines to pick blueberries, shake cherries, plums and other fruit from trees, and one farmer was testing a device that would cut and stack asparagus like farmers once cut grain and put it in shocks. They said they hadn’t gone to this machinery because it was still cost effective to hire migrant labor. The proposed legislation, however, would bring an end to summer migrant workers in Michigan.
One man, who operated a radio and television repair business in Mexico, said he and his family came to the farms in Michigan each summer because they made good money and it was like a vacation for them. He said they didn’t mind living in rough conditions because it was like camping out.
I talked to a church supported mission service for the migrants that echoed this man’s feelings. The pastor I spoke with said all of the migrants were afraid they were going to lose their jobs over this new development.
I spoke with a large migrant family that was traveling around in two late model trucks. This family was picking melons on a large crop farm. They said they liked the way of life they had because they were collectively making more money than they ever could make in Mexico. The spokesman for the family said they were clearing about $300 a day, which was good money for them.
I was at the melon farm at about supper time. The farmer invited me into the house for a treat. He sliced one of the fresh melons from his field, scooped out the seed in the center, and filled it with vanilla ice cream. He said that all of the farmers were upset about the Free Press story and all he asked was that I write the real story of what was happening on the crop farms.
I did just that. I reported both sides of the story, as I have done all of my life. True, some of the migrant families were forced to stay in relatively deplorable conditions while working on these farms. But they were only there for a few brief days before moving on, and they were not complaining. And they were afraid of losing their summer employment. It was a system that had worked well for both farmers and Mexican migrants for many years.
My story struck a nerve in the bleeding heart sector of Kalamazoo. The newspaper and I personally received a flood of hate mail for having written such a story. My editor backed down and ran a public apology. I was subsequently blackballed from ever getting a good story assignment again. It appeared that I was doomed to be stuck with music and religion stories, where I could do no political harm in that “All American City” ever again.
Of course it should be noted that everything turned out exactly as the migrant families and crop farmers said they would. The state legislators passed their laws. The farmers invested in harvesting equipment and the sight of migrant workers on Michigan farms dwindled drastically. Today the migrant families have become a major political issue.