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Brigido Oregon, a West Michigan migrant farm worker from Texas, was chained, jailed and threatened with deportation for 17 days, all while pleading his innocence. Oregon is in fact a legal citizen of the United States, but immigration officials didn’t believe him.

Oregon shared his story at a public hearing for the Michigan Civil Rights Commission in August. The Commission intends to bring to light violations against farm workers, which are unfortunately commonplace.

The state agency’s intent is to make it easier for farm workers to file complaints, said civil rights’ commission chairman Matthew Wesaw. The commission also plans to issue a public report on it’s findings in October — the first time in 40 years that the commission has conducted a study on farm worker violations, said Wesaw.

“What we’re seeing is that things aren’t just the same, they’re worse than ever before,” Wesaw told approximately 70 people gathered at the GVSU meeting.

State civil rights officials are investigating several reports of poor living conditions and employers not paying promised wages. Some farm workers have reported being threatened with deportation if they complained about conditions or treatment.

Click here to read the full story from the Muskegon News. Also see related article, “Tempers flare between state agencies over farm workers’ civil rights violations.”