Migrant Workers on a West Michigan Blueberry Farm File a Lawsuit for Alleged Labor Trafficking Violations

A pair of migrant workers have sued a west Michigan farm in federal court for alleged labor trafficking violations, including being forced to work long hours without breaks, accept unfair wages and share a three-bedroom house between 30 workers, under threat of legal repercussions if they complained about their situation.

In the lawsuit, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Feliciano Velasco Rojas and Luiz Guzman Rojas contend they were brought to First Pick Farms against their will in July 2017, having previously worked at a farm in North Carolina. First Pick Farms is in West Olive, a small community about 30 miles west of Grand Rapids.

Specifically, the complaint alleges violations of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act and the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act. Velasco Rojas and Guzman Rojas were migrant farm workers from Mexico, and had legally entered the U.S. through work visas, per the complaint. The pair are being represented by the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, Farmworker Justice and Farmworker Legal Services.

Read the source article at freep.com