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Apple farmworker detained at routine ICE check-in, judge orders her return to New York

May 26, 2026 · Rochester, NY, Mexico

Apple farmworker detained at routine ICE check-in, judge orders her return to New York

Dolores Bustamante Romero, a 54-year-old apple picker and farmworker advocate from Wayne County, New York, was detained by ICE on April 22, 2026, during a mandatory check-in appointment at the Buffalo office without notice that her supervised release was being revoked. A Mexican national who fled gender violence in 2003 and arrived in the U.S. seeking asylum, Bustamante has lived in upstate New York since 2012 and was a well-known advocate for migrant farmworkers and member of Alianza Agricola. She was instrumental in securing New York's Green Light Law and an executive order banning State Police from inquiring about immigration status. She had no criminal record and had attended four previous check-in appointments without incident while enrolled in an alternatives-to-detention program under the Biden administration. U.S. District Judge Meredith Vacca ordered ICE to return her to Western New York and held an evidentiary hearing on May 26, 2026, to review whether ICE violated her due process rights by detaining her without proper notice.

Timeline

May 26, 2026U.S. District Judge Meredith Vacca ordered ICE to return Bustamante to Western New York and held an evidentiary hearing to review whether ICE violated her due process rights
Apr 22, 2026Bustamante was detained by ICE during a mandatory check-in appointment at Buffalo office without notice that her supervised release was being revoked; she was shackled and transferred to a detention center
2018Bustamante received a removal order after exhausting asylum appeals
2012Bustamante settled in upstate New York and began working as an apple picker and farm manager in Wayne County
2003Dolores Bustamante Romero fled gender violence in Mexico and arrived in the United States seeking asylum

Sources

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