Wilson Ring of the Associated Press offers two articles about Vermont dairy farms using illegal labor in "Vermont dairy farms count on illegal immigrants" (link, part of their "Immigration Debate") and "Charlotte, Vt., woman helps immigrant farm workers" (link).

The first includes a state official openly supporting illegal activity:

"Everyone knows some of these people are illegal," says Vermont Agriculture Secretary Roger Allbee. But, he says, "The system is broken. There's the need for labor."

Recognizing their dependence on these workers - whatever their status - Vermonters have worked out a system to protect the status quo.

In Burlington and Middlebury, police have policies in place not to bother Hispanics about immigration issues unless they're breaking the law.

And recognizing that the farms are vulnerable to enforcement sweeps, even Allbee is part of an emergency response team that is ready to step in and do chores if a farmer's workers are ever hauled away on immigration charges (The team has never been used.).

What other forms of illegal activity would Allbee support? And, while Ring did contact the Department of Homeland Security for comment, he isn't exactly making a federal case about a state official looking the other way when money's on the line. Did Ring look into whether Allbee has some sort of financial motivation?

From this December 2006 press release announcing his appointment:

Allbee, 61, of Townshend is highly regarded among Vermont’s agriculture community. He has served as the executive director of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Farm Services Agency in Vermont since March, 2003. Prior to that, he was a private food and agri-business consultant, a Vice President for Public Policy and Strategic Planning at the Farm Credit Banks of Springfield and a staff member for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture.

He was also on one of the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade boards (link), and he serves on the board of the state Vermont Economic Development Authority (veda.org).

The second Wilson Ring article and most of the first concerns a useful idiot who - supposedly only on a volunteer basis - arranges jobs for farmworkers and who supports them working 60 to 70 hours per week rather than supporting her unemployed fellow citizens working fewer hours under better conditions.