| JJ Ficken didn’t talk much about the grant money with other farmers. The federal government had promised JJ a $200,000 grant, spread across two years, to cover the cost of a seasonal farmhand from Latin America. It was an opportunity that could transform his family’s future, but, JJ explained to his friend, President Donald Trump had frozen the money. “Good,” the man said, grinning. “Too much spending here and there. I’m okay with a little hurt.” “But not all of it,” JJ said, because he rejected the notion that his grant was a waste. JJ had bought a plane ticket for a 24-year-old from Guatemala named Otto Vargas. He’d rented him a single-wide and bought him an old pickup. He’d spent tens of thousands of dollars to do what the grant required, covering most of it with a line of credit at 8.5 percent interest. Now, he didn’t know if Otto would ever get here, or if the government would ever pay him back. | 
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