Workforce across northeast Wisconsin will be impacted by immigration policies. Here’s how.

AI-assisted summary
• Immigrants make up a vital and growing part of Wisconsin's workforce, especially in agriculture and manufacturing.
• Immigrant entrepreneurs are creating jobs and contributing significantly to the state's economy.
• Northeast Wisconsin, with its lower cost of living and strong sense of community, is attracting a growing number of immigrants.
• Despite the positive impact of immigrants, concerns remain about labor shortages and the impact of changing immigration policies.
• Local organizations are providing support and resources to help immigrant entrepreneurs and workers succeed.

NORTHEAST WISCONSIN – Parnell’s Place is a staple of Oshkosh, arguably the city’s most beloved restaurant.

So, when Harsh “Sunny” Singh saw the Hughes family couldn’t get the tavern sold after having it on the market for two years, he felt almost duty-bound to keep the spot’s rich 50-year legacy intact.

Nothing much has changed at Parnell’s almost a year later, other than the fact that Oshkosh’s favorite place for fried chicken is owned by a 40-year-old man from India.

“We can make [the U.S.] a better place,” Singh said of immigrants like himself. “That’s what we’re trying to do.”

Singh is just one of the estimated 19,171 immigrants residing in the combined Sheboygan, Fond du Lac, Winnebago and Manitowoc counties, and 320,000 in total across the state, who generate $23 billion of economic output in Wisconsin, according to "statewide antiracist policy center" Kids Forward.

As Wisconsin’s workforce ages at a faster rate than can be replaced, immigrants are and will continue to be a vital asset to the state’s workforce.

“We need these people for us to have success in our communities, because last I checked, our birth rates dropped in 2008, 2009 and that has caused an issue not only for our economy, but on our education systems,” said Winnebago County Executive Jon Doemel. “Our population projections are not good.”

11% of Wisconsin's downtown businesses are immigrant-owned.

Kids Forward, in partnership with the Immigration Research Initiative and the Economic Policy Institute, analyzed U.S. Census American Community Survey data to find that 11% of Wisconsin’s downtown businesses are immigrant-owned.

Additionally, immigrants account for significant portions of labor across industries, like service, education, health care and manufacturing. Immigrants make up 63% of manicurists and pedicurists, 24% of packaging machine operators and 17% of college professors and software developers.   

And for Wisconsin’s $116.3 billion agriculture industry, data show farms are seeking more hired labor than in the past and will need more workers in the future.

But the future of immigrants’ contributions to the statewide economy is uncertain in wake of President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration executive orders. Anxiety and fear are palpable, regardless of immigration status.   

That sense of panic has certainly been felt in the state’s refugee community, particularly after the Trump administration indefinitely suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and issued a stop-work order on all federally funded activities providing refugee resettlement.

Without those programs, Aqlima Omari wouldn't have been able to escape Afghanistan and restart her bridal shop business, Fox Princess, on Mall Drive in Appleton.

A 45-year-old mother of five, Aqlima’s family was resettled by World Relief Wisconsin four years ago, benefiting from the Christian humanitarian organization’s funding, which helps to pay immigrants’ housing and utilities within their first 90 days in the U.S.

Her family is among 660 immigrants in the Fox Valley area who work with World Relief, which is currently serving 125 new immigrants after helping nearly 350 residents in 2024.

Because of that assistance, Aqlima was able to quickly find work as a teacher assistant, cashier and librarian. Now, she's looking to restart the chain of four bridal stores she left back in Afghanistan after opening her first shop just five months ago.

“I want to open another in Green Bay because this area is very safe and has been very good for business,” said Aqlima, while adjusting one of the main bridal displays.

Business has also been booming for Kardo Hadi, an Iraqi musician turned owner of Oshkosh Mediterranean Food Market.

Hadi has been in Oshkosh for the last 11 years and saw the opportunity to open a Middle Eastern grocery store with one of his friends in 2017, figuring no one else was offering Halal meat and Mediterranean seasonings between Appleton and Chicago.

"You can’t find our products in other stores like Walmart," explained Hadi.

"People come from Appleton, Green Bay, Neenah, Menasha and Fond du Lac just for our fresh bread, chicken, lamb, beef and spices because the taste is different and it is all fresh."

Immigrant business owners have found several opportunities in northeast Wisconsin.

It's a big reason why immigrants account for 7.6% of entrepreneurs in the state ― the opportunities are vast in northeast Wisconsin.

So, business owners like Kardo, Aqlima and Singh aren't taking jobs away from Wisconsinites. They're creating them.

Singh has a Ph.D. in biological systems engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but the Parnell’s owner explained students don’t have the capital to start businesses, so it’s easier in smaller cities like Oshkosh.

Yet, the appeal of northeast Wisconsin goes far beyond just the availability of opportunities. There is also a strong sense of community.

“I feel it’s so good doing business here because it makes more of an impact on the people,” Singh said. “If you’re doing good, then it’s like everyone is rising with you.”

Then, of course, there is the cost of living.

While places like New York and California are significantly more diverse, northeast Wisconsin’s cost of living index is around 18% lower than the nation’s average, according to New Manufacturing Alliance.

And that generates secondary migration, where immigrants who have already settled in the area help to attract other families and friends to that region, explained Zambian immigrant Mashebe Mushe Subulwa.

“Refugees, for example, may get a job right away here in Oshkosh and while someone in San Diego can say they make $20 an hour for a certain job but are paying $2,000 in rent, then someone else can tell them come to Oshkosh for that same house for $800,” said Subulwa.

The growth of the Hmong community, which was originally resettled in Wisconsin from the Vietnam War in the 1970s, typifies that secondary migration.

A 2024 report done by UW-Madison showed a 25% increase of the Hmong population between 2010 and 2020, making the community the largest Asian ethnic group in Wisconsin with an estimated 62,331 people.

Maysee Herr, CEO of Hmong Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce, which provides technical assistance, business loans and other services to small businesses statewide, said the organization has had a presence in Sheboygan, working with the Hmong Mutual Assistance Association, attending grand openings and hosting networking events. Herr said HWCC has seen an uptick in Hmong- and Asian-owned businesses opening in Sheboygan within the last few years, significantly more than cities like Fond du Lac and Manitowoc.

Among them are Blooming Minds counseling, Chubby Bunny Boba, Nyob Zoo Cafe and Bestea.

Herr said HWCC works with many service-oriented businesses, like restaurants, grocery stores and beauty and wellness spaces. She said it’s not surprising many Hmong businesses are grocery stores or restaurants, as they've looked to fill a community need for cultural goods. But she said businesses have seen clientele grow to non-Hmong individuals, too.  

"It provides an opportunity for a larger community to experience that culture," Herr said.

While she couldn’t recall how many immigrant-owned businesses HWCC has worked with, she said there are new entrepreneurs who owned businesses before coming to the U.S. and have overcome English language barriers. Herr said some HWCC staff speak Hmong and Lao and can also relate culturally to offer additional support.  

The growth of HWCC businesses has been amazing, Herr said. For second-generation immigrant families, she said younger professionals can see additional success, leveraging bilingual and bicultural experiences. 

“The entrepreneurial spirit is strong,” she said. “When someone has a will, they have found there's a way." 

Immigrant workers are key for Wisconsin farms and manufacturing

Kelly Wilfert, farm law outreach specialist with the UW-Madison Extension, said a lot of uncertainty surrounds farm hiring across the state and farmers are concerned about how Trump's immigration policies could affect their operations and workers, even if they’re legally employed.  

No accurate state data show how much undocumented labor Wisconsin farms rely on — the generally accepted number of 70% comes from the UW-Madison's School for Workers' April 2023 Dairy Workers Study — but Wilfert said crop farms hiring seasonally may see more competition for the same workers if they’re under the assumption others previously hiring undocumented workers will be hiring fewer, fearful there's a greater risk of being caught. It’s unclear if this will lead to competitive wage increases.  

Labor is a persistent challenge for Wisconsin farms, especially dairy producers, Wilfert said.

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection’s 2024 Dairy Producer Survey reported 30% of southeast farms will need additional labor in the next two years and 87% said they’d consider hiring first-generation immigrant workers. 35% of southeast farms said finding labor would be among the top challenges over the next five years, in addition to regulations and trade policies. 

“These agricultural jobs are not super highly sought after jobs in a lot of cases,” Wilfert said. “It’s not easy work. It's long hours, and so there is a challenge to continue to find people to fill those positions.” 

Milk and livestock sales account for the bulk of agriculture product sales from Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, Sheboygan and Winnebago counties, according to USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture data, ranging between 63% and 82%.  

While no local data are available on livestock workers, national data suggest about 35%, or about one in three, are immigrants, Wilfert said. 65% of livestock workers are born in the U.S. as of 2022, according to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.

"We definitely see that immigrants seem to be willing to fill that role," Wilfert said about livestock workers. "The folks that are filling them (jobs) really are helping support our local economy by helping support agriculture in the state."

The distribution of migrant farm workers is uneven across states, with the highest numbers being 72,910 workers in California and 35,546 in Washington, according to latest available data from 2022. Though Wisconsin only staffed 5,418 migrant workers, USDA Census of Agriculture data show that has grown from 3,684 workers in 2017 and 2,814 in 2012.

Locally, an average of 25% of farms reported hiring workers across Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, Sheboygan and Winnebago counties, with migrant labor accounting for about 7% to 11%.

"It does have a pretty significant impact," Wilfert said.

She said immigration is not a new discussion in agriculture, with farming agencies and organizations calling on policy makers to change immigration laws and programs to better support operations.

To alleviate labor shortage pressures and create a stable year-round workforce, the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation recommended expanding the H-2A program, a temporary agriculture visa program, to include dairy farms in its 2024 Agriculture Labor Report.  

“A critical step in addressing labor shortages is modernizing immigration laws,” Wisconsin Farm Bureau’s Director of National Affairs Tyler Wenzlaff said in an emailed statement. “It’s unrealistic to expect workers to enter legally when the current system is broken."

Regional manufacturers have found success hiring immigrant workers, especially in cities like Sheboygan, which struggles with a low labor participation rate and shortages in affordable housing and child care that could attract workers.

Old Wisconsin hired several members of five resettled refugee Rohingya families about two years ago, in coordination with First Congregational Church Sheboygan. The company hasn’t hired individuals from resettlement programs since, but Bart Derocher, Old Wisconsin plant manager, said they’ve hired immigrants on an individual basis.  

“Regardless of where they're from or how they got here ... we’re totally open to it,” Derocher said, adding Old Wisconsin wants to fill open positions. Considering everyone who’s eligible to work has helped the company stave off labor shortages, keeping production running and serving customers, he added.

To help immigrants adjust, Derocher said Old Wisconsin can connect workers to English language classes, like Lakeshore College in Manitowoc County and the Family Resource Center of Sheboygan County’s Literacy Council Program. He said some businesses may not be open to hiring immigrants because communication barriers or being unaware of local resources may pose a challenge.  

Immigrants can further contribute to and become part of the unique fabric of a community.

Sheboygan County has the fourth-largest population of Hmong people in the state, with a large wave coming to the state and region in the 1980s and 1990s after the Vietnam War.  

CherPao Vang, board member of the Sheboygan Hmong Mutual Assistance Association, said the Hmong community has changed since he moved to Sheboygan about 40 years ago, first immigrating to California and then moving briefly to Illinois. He said the second generation has assimilated to Western culture, earned educations and participated in the workforce.  

While he said some people in the community still don’t know about Hmong people, the group is well established in Sheboygan, participating in cultural and community festivals, hosting free community lunch and partnering on educational exhibits. Hmong people are prominent in the manufacturing workforce, too, hired at major county employers like Kohler Co., Johnsonville, Sargento and Rockline.

“They (companies) all know about the Hmong people,” he said. “They are hardworking people.”  

That sentiment is shared by Winnebago County Executive Jon Doemel.

Continually referring to the Hmong people as "crucial assets," Doemel said his county has only been improved by the growth of the Hmong community over the last 40 years.

"We clearly need them," Doemel stressed.

It's part of the reason Doemel was strongly behind county government contracting World Relief to continue its 90-day resettlement of immigrants in Winnebago County, agreeing to reimburse the agency up until April, after the Trump administration froze federally funded resettlement efforts.

The problem, for Doemel, comes with a politicized perception of "immigrants versus citizens" and an "erroneous belief" that noncitizens bring a criminal element to the United States.

"What I find is that our immigrant and our refugee populations do not come with a sense of entitlement, but rather a hard work ethic and a strong family value system," Doemel said. "It comes down to us not putting people in a box."

Alex Garner is a reporter for the Sheboygan Press and USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. She can be contacted at 224-374-2332 or agarner@gannett.com.

Justin Marville is a reporter for the Oshkosh Northwestern and USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. He can be contacted at jmarville@gannett.com and on X (formerly Twitter) at @justinmarville.