Farmers protest unjust immigration system

During the Great Depression, my great grandfather and other farmers in Wisconsin organised penny auctions to help prevent some of his neighbors from losing their property to foreclosure.

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On the day a farm was put on the auction block, farmers in the area closed down the roads around the farm — the only people allowed to enter were the farmer whose property was being auctioned, a bank representative and the auctioneer. Then, when the auction was held, the farmer facing foreclosure would put in a bid for his own farm — sometimes as little as a penny, according to the Tribune News Service

Today farmers are no longer organising penny auctions, but they are engaging in solidarity actions with immigrants. They are bringing their tractors to marches in defense of immigrant rights, as well as partnering with organisations that lead know-your-rights trainings and challenging warrant service agreements between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local law enforcement that, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, “can embolden police to engage in racial profiling.”