Frederica Freyberg:
We're told that even during these tough times that workers continue to go across the borders to work on Wisconsin dairy farms and in increasing numbers. On Tuesday, Gov. Jim Doyle confirmed that the number of immigrant workers is on the rise. He made his comments before an audience of farmers gathered at the Wisconsin Farm Technology Days in Waterloo. We visited that expo and asked some farmers how they see the growing use of immigrant labor on operations across the state.

George Crave:
I think in the farming sector as far as picking fruits and vegetables, milking the cows, processing the chickens, yeah, this economy would not survive. We would have to make drastic reductions in what we're doing. We would run out of food in a hurry. I think the reality is, that's why we haven't been aggressive in dealing with this issue. The workers are here. Some people say they're not happy they're here. I think deep down, most people realize the value of this work force. And we're happy to have it. We're happy to have them here.

George Crave:
If the Hispanic work force was removed from the US, we would have dirty beds in hotels, we would have empty restaurants, we would have empty store shelves and on and on and on down the line from the food processing to our kitchens, to our, you know, hotels and services. We would, if you think we have a problem in our economy today, you remove that work force, we wouldn't have half of the services that we are provided with. The simple services that we're so accustomed to having would disappear and this economy would crack and fall bad.

Kevin Griswold:
The entire American economy is better off for them being here. They pay taxes. They work hard. They do jobs that are very difficult to fill with conventional workers. So I think to make them a legal part of our economy would make sense for everybody. Not only do they benefit us by being good employees, but they are an important part of the U.S. economy and part of the thread of America.

Frederica Freyberg:
These are views not held by some who believe our immigrations laws are not strict enough and there should be higher standards for workers. Many farmers themselves think there should be better immigrant worker rules in place so they don't have to worry about the status of their employees.