Milking in the Shadows: Migrants and Mobility in America’s Dairyland

by Julie C. Keller

Migrant workers live in a transnational world that spans the boundaries of nation-states. Yet for undocumented workers, this world is complicated by inflexible immigration policies and the ever-present threat of enforcement. Workers labeled as “illegals” wrestle with restrictive immigration policies, evading border patrol and local police as they risk their lives to achieve economic stability for their families. For this group of workers, whose lives in the U.S. are largely defined by their tenuous legal status, the sacrifices they make to get ahead entail long periods of waiting, extended separation from family, and above all, tremendous uncertainty around a freedom that many of us take for granted—everyday mobility. In Milking in the Shadows , Julie Keller takes an in-depth look at a population of undocumented migrants working in the American dairy industry to understand the components of this labor system. This book offers a framework for understanding the disjuncture between the labor desired by employers and life as an undocumented worker in America today.

196 pages, Paperback

Published January 7, 2019

Reviews

[Cameron Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

solid study. Novel examination of what goes on before and after a migrant migrates or returns, and how exactly they cross the border (although keller did not cross herself). Especially good discussion of how workers create maintain themselves as such and help create the labor process, which doesn't get much attention in popular discourse. The gender chapter seemed to be the least grounded.

[Emma Rieser · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️ Extremely well researched and well said.