Investigate Midwest will host its first live virtual panel on Sept. 18, bringing together leading voices in policy, labor, and immigrant advocacy to examine one of the most pressing questions facing America’s food system:

What happens when immigration enforcement targets the very workers who help keep it alive?

The conversation comes as Investigate Midwest launches a new grant-funded reporting series exploring how Trump-era immigration raids, stepped-up ICE enforcement, and delayed federal reform have reshaped the agricultural workforce — and the lives of noncitizen workers behind it.

Katelin Cruz of Western Illinois Dreamers
Daniel Costa of the Economic Policy Institute
Jose Oliva of the HEAL Food Alliance
State Rep. Edgar Gonzalez, D-Chicago

Ben Felder, editor in chief for Investigate Midwest, will moderate the event.

“Few industries are as vulnerable to the sweeping policy changes underway around immigration as the agriculture sector, and that impact has been a focus for Investigate Midwest in recent months,” said Felder. “This panel discussion not only adds to our coverage but also helps our readers better understand what Trump’s immigration policies mean for the nation’s food system and rural communities across the country.”

The discussion will cover H-2A visas, detention center closures, and how workers, employers, and communities across the Midwest are adapting to labor shortages and policy gridlock.

“We want our readers to feel like they’re at the table for this conversation,” said Lauren Cross, assistant editor and audience engagement manager at Investigate Midwest. “These issues can feel complicated, but they’re also personal. They affect who grows our food, how it reaches us, and what it means for families across the country.”

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Meet the panelists

Katelin Cruz

Katelin Cruz is co-director and community services block grant program manager with Western Illinois Dreamers. She earned an MBA in talent management from Benedictine University and teaches adult education for English language learners. Cruz is also a certified health care interpreter in Spanish and English and has extensive experience in language access, program management, and community advocacy. Her work focuses on serving and empowering migrant communities.

Daniel Costa

Daniel Costa is the director of immigration law and policy research at the Economic Policy Institute, an economics think tank in Washington, D.C., where his research focuses on a wide range of labor migration issues. He is also a visiting scholar at the Global Migration Center at the University of California, Davis. Costa holds degrees from UC Berkeley, Syracuse, and Georgetown.

Jose Oliva

Jose Oliva, born in Guatemala and raised in Chicago, has long championed food and worker justice. He co-founded and co-directed the Food Chain Workers Alliance, representing 350,000 workers, and now serves as campaigns director at the HEAL Food Alliance, a coalition of more than 2 million people in the food system. A James Beard Award recipient, he also co-chairs the Chicago Area Food System Fund and serves on the boards of the Growing Justice Fund and Woods Fund of Chicago.

Edgar Gonzalez

Rep. Edgar Gonzalez, D-Chicago, is a state representative for Illinois’ 23rd District. He was born and raised in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood and attended Chicago Public Schools before graduating from Harvard University with a BA in Government and Economics. A former in-district constituent services staffer for Congressman J. Garcia, Gonzalez is the son of immigrants from Monterrey, Mexico. His father is an operating engineer and a member of IUOE Local 399 and his mother is a former member of SEIU Local 73.

Ben Felder, moderator

Ben Felder is Investigate Midwest’s first editor in chief. He was hired in 2023 to cover agribusiness and the meat industry in Oklahoma. Felder previously worked for The Oklahoman as a political enterprise reporter blending narrative storytelling, data analysis and investigative reporting to cover the state’s political leaders, the influences behind them, and their impact on everyday Oklahomans. Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, and a graduate of Trevecca University in Nashville, Felder lives in Oklahoma City with his wife, Lori, and son, Satchel.