Your Neighbor

For the last four and a half years, Victor’s been working on dairy farms in the Northeast. Like 11 million other people in this country, he’s undocumented. I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve always assumed I knew this story already…like it was some kind of composite story of the ‘Mexican migrant farm worker experience’. The worst part is, I didn’t even know I was assuming this. I guess I didn’t really have to think about it. The story didn’t have a lot to do with me.

But last week President Trump started making good on his promises to ramp up deportations of undocumented people in this country–people who pay 12 billion dollars in US taxes every year–but don’t have US documents.

Victor’s a friend of a friend of mine, and I won’t say where he works but these friends of friends are my neighbors, and yours. My friend, we’ll call her ‘T’, agreed to do some translating, along with her brand new baby. We visited Victor at his apartment on the dairy farm where he works. This is his story.

Credits

The music for this show was made by the amazing Amelia Meath, and her band Sylvan Esso. Thank you so much Amelia for humming in your bathroom, your car and on the street. Her other group is a trio of women called Mountain Man. Music that will make your hair stand up.

I want to thank all the excellent farm workers I met in making this show. And thanks so much to A and A, and T for her wonderful presence and a memorable drive.