The Human Trafficking Awareness Team

Messiah’s “Human Trafficking Awareness” team is part of our Social Justice Ministry.


Human Trafficking Awareness is at the intersection of working for long-range change in the areas of racial justice and homelessness, and responding to immediate needs through our community outreach team.


When did Messiah begin its journey with Human Trafficking Awareness?

Two years ago we held an information night with a variety of speakers: detectives from the city of Madison police and Dane county sheriff's departments, Jan Miyasaki with Project Respect, Diane Hanson with United Madison and Jevon Diming with Pierre  Outreach Safe House.. We learned human trafficking happens in Dane County, Wisconsin, the United States and the world. We learned that due to generational trauma, some people are more vulnerable than others.



If you are interested in being a member of this group in order to receive information and possibly take action steps, please contact Elizabeth Crummy at volunteer@messiahchurch.com

Human Trafficking Awareness News 


January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. One of the areas in which there is a significant amount of trafficking is in the labor market, due in part to the high number of undocumented workers. 


How many undocumented workers live and work in Wisconsin you wonder?

An estimated 70,000 undocumented immigrants live in Wisconsin, about 47,000 of whom are employed, according to the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, Jan 13, 2025.


For an example of how essential they are, consider this: more than 10,000 undocumented immigrant workers perform 70% of the labor on Wisconsin dairy farms, according to an April 2023 survey by the School for Workers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Despite increasingly hostile national political rhetoric about immigrants, Wisconsin farmers are heavily dependent on this workforce without whom the whole dairy industry would collapse overnight. 


State and national farm lobby groups have pushed for a change in U.S. law to create a visa program for year-round, low-skilled farm workers on dairies. Under the current system, only seasonal agricultural workers and those with special technical skills can qualify for visas, which is why most of Wisconsin’s dairy workers are undocumented.


The top industries that employ undocumented workers in Wisconsin are: 

  • Manufacturing — estimated 11,000 workers. 
  • Dairy Farms — estimated 10,000 workers.
  • Professional, scientific, management, administrative and waste management services — estimated 8,000 workers.
  • Accommodation and food services, arts, entertainment and recreation — estimated 5,000 workers.
  • Construction — estimated 5,000 workers. 
  • Agriculture — estimated 5,000 workers.


Please read the Wisconsin Examiners report from March 14, 2024 called Trapped on Wisconsin farms:  The Hidden Plight of Trafficked Workers:   

https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2024/03/14/trapped-on-wisconsin-farms-the-hidden-plight-of-trafficked-workers/


This is not to say that all undocumented workers are trafficked, but there is a proven high correlation between immigration status and being trafficked in certain industries.


Other HTA Team News

Please tune in for services on March 29th & 30th when Jevon Diming will speak on her initiative working with at-risk Black teenage girls, counseling them with making good decisions.


The Messiah Human Trafficking Awareness group welcomes any of your involvement with making positive change to help with this initiative. 


Contact:  Nancy Battist, battistnancy@gmail.com or Elizabeth Crummy, volunteer@messiahchurch.com if you have ideas you would like to see happen.



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