No country for sanctuary seekers

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President Donald Trump has promised to withdraw federal money from jurisdictions that do not help immigration agents find and deport people living illegally in this country. This week, we look into places that offer sanctuary to those immigrants – and what the conflict between federal and local policies means for them.

It's become an acute problem in Wisconsin, where the dairy industry depends heavily on workers living in the US illegally. That state helped push Trump to victory. Reveal's Andy Becker takes us to farms grappling with the departure of immigrant workers, and a county in which the sanctuary debate is heating up.

From Wisconsin Public Radio, Alexandra Hall meets with a dairy worker who, after 16 years at the same farm, must choose whether he and his family should stay put or get out while they can.

The idea of sanctuary also includes way stations for people in transit. A loose network of religious and other volunteers offer that haven – not for immigrants looking to stay in the US, but for those seeking a safe passage north. Reveal's Ike Sriskandarajah traces the route of refugees heading to Canada.

Illustration by Michael I Schiller for Reveal

Credits

Host:

Al Letson