As business owners across the Cape prepare for the busy summer season, some are wondering how president-elect Donald Trump taking office will impact their ability to hire foreign workers.
In light of the Cape’s dependence on immigrant labor, Barnstable County Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution in support of foreign workers this week.
“We’re facing some challenging times in the weeks and months ahead, where many of our seasonal workers are going to be challenged in terms of either continuing in their work or reapplying,” Commissioner Mark Forest said. “We depend on immigrant labor to sustain our economy.”
The move to pass this resolution came in part due to the uncertain fate of certain federal visa programs under Trump, Forest said, such as J-1 and H-2B. Forest emphasized that foreign workers who come to the United States as part of these programs are in the country legally.
“Many of the programs that provide legal access for these foreign workers, they’re being discussed as likely to be terminated in the near future through an executive order or some other kind of executive action,” he said.
Commissioner Sheila Lyons agreed, expressing concern that Trump’s policies could impact the Cape’s workforce.
“The administration that we’re going to be going into, when it existed four years ago, it was a very scary time for people who were immigrants and for those who were working towards getting their green cards,” she said. “Some of these people have been living here for 10 years, and if anything expires, the threat now that’s being felt is that they could be sent home in a heartbeat.”
Commission chair Ronald Bergstrom indicated that more broadly, he did not support anti-immigrant culture.
“By and large, the Cape is an accepting place,” he said. “I hope that what goes on at the national level doesn’t filter down to us to change that.”
Commissioners shared personal experiences interacting with foreign workers on the Cape. Forest said that, from his time in assisted living facilities, he had seen the impact that Haitian workers had on long-term care in Cape Cod.
“This place wouldn’t run without foreign workers,” Lyons said. “And that goes from one end of the Cape to the other.”
Other county officials have also begun publicly addressing questions about local immigration enforcement under Trump.
Barnstable County Sheriff Donna Buckley told the county Assembly of Delegates earlier this month that under state law, her department does not have the authority to detain undocumented immigrants.
She added that she was not sure how the Trump administration could impact state law around immigration, but as of right now, she has no plans for her department to cooperate with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
This story was originally published by CAI. It was shared as part of the New England News Collaborative.
