On November 3, vote Democratic to protect our immigrant neighbors and the Hudson Valley communities that depend on them.

As a Marbletown Democratic Committee member, granddaughter of immigrants and retired American Studies professor whose work centers on immigration, I see this election as a test of our principles. Will we defend our neighbors, or help Donald Trump drive them into hiding?

Immigrants harvest our apples, sustain dairy farms, build houses, staff restaurants and care for children and older people. Deporting them tears apart families and threatens the businesses and households their labor sustains.

Congressman Josh Riley proposes changing the H-2A visa program so farms with year-round labor needs can hire workers legally. Addressing a problem farmers and immigrant workers face supports rural communities, Michelle Frazier agrees. Their Republican opponents, Peter Oberacker and Christopher Tigue, instead pledge support for Trump’s inhumane immigration policies.

In Ulster County, protections have meaning. Sheriff Juan Figueroa’s has maintained a policy of noncooperation with ICE, barring ICE detainees in his jails, rejecting civil immigration detainers and requiring judicial warrants for ICE access to people in his custody. County Resolution 189 protects against the involuntary disclosure of personal information, particularly for immigration enforcement, except when required by law.

These safeguards matter when someone needs medical care, reports a crime or seeks county services. No one should have to weigh the need for help against the fear that their personal information could be used against them. Fear should never be the price of asking for help.

My former student, once a DACA recipient and now an immigration lawyer, wrote: “In my 15 years representing immigrants, I have never seen our community face this much terror.”

Her warning makes the stakes clear. Federal immigration policy reaches into local lives through the officials we elect and the institutions they control.

Support Democrats who defend immigrant families, constitutional protections and our workforce.

On November 3, vote to keep Ulster County safe and welcoming for all of us.

Laura Anker

Stone Ridge