Foreign-born workers play a major role in Minnesota’s agricultural and hospitality sectors. Many of these workers have come to the United States on temporary visas or have some other legal status, while many others are undocumented.

President Donald Trump’s efforts to restrict immigration and step up enforcement have caused uncertainty for some workers with and without legal status. Ma Elena Gutierrez, the founder of the immigration advocacy organization Fe y Justica, and Fernando Quijano, a University of Minnesota extension educator for community economics based in Moorhead, joined Minnesota Now to discuss how this uncertainty is carrying over into the rural economy.