By Victoria Mullen, WKTV
Entrepreneur Luzmita Mendez de Leon shared a heartfelt story during Migrant Legal Aid’s (MLA) 7th Annual Harvest of Justice Luncheon at Versluis Orchards on Sept. 13.
Several years ago, Mendez de Leon, an undocumented migrant and a victim of domestic violence, found her pleas for help ignored by several West Michigan agencies. Then she turned to MLA for help.
Thanks to MLA’s assistance, Mendez de Leon obtained a U visa. U (nonimmigrant status) visas are set aside for victims of crimes who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse as a result of the crime.
Now, years later, Mendez de Leon is a successful entrepreneur and owner of La Cosinita restaurant and catering company. In fact, she catered this year’s Harvest of Justice Luncheon.
“In addition to catering, she delivers 200 lunches every day to migrant camps,” said MLA executive director and lead attorney, Teresa Hendricks.
Migrant Legal Aid provides legal services to migrant farmworkers who face substantial barriers to justice. These willing, hardworking, and economical workers are vital to Michigan’s economy, but a migrant family’s life is far from easy. Many work 15-hour days in the hot sun with little or no access to bathrooms or fresh water for drinking and washing. A delay in starting work, a missed hour of work, or one missed paycheck can upset their fragile existence. Worse, the confusion and uncertainty surrounding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and current attitudes toward immigrants in America make a migrant’s life even more fragile.
Hendricks and her team advocate on behalf of migrant and seasonal farmworkers in Michigan for basic human dignity, on-the-job and environmental safety, safe housing, health care access, and myriad other needs.
And each year, MLA celebrates and honors businesses in the community who treat their workers humanely. Awards are given for Responsible Retailer and Good Grower.
As part of the Fair Food Project (FFP), MLA partners with area grocery stores who sign a pledge to buy from growers who treat their workers humanely. FFP is a partnership among farmers, farmworkers, and retail food companies that ensures humane wages and working conditions for the workers who pick fruits and vegetables on participating farms. It harnesses the power of consumer demand to give farmworkers a voice in the workplace, and to eliminate the longstanding abuses that have plagued agriculture for generations.
Spartan Nash received the ‘Responsible Retailer Award’ this year — 200 Spartan Nash stories pledged, and 80 independent stores supplied by Spartan Nash also signed pledges.
Other awards were given to MLA staff and board members.
