JULY 30, 2025: It’s not an exaggeration — every day there’s a new ICE raid, a new unlawful detainment, new details about overcrowded and torturous detention facilities, or a new plan to centralize government data for DHS use. Across the food system, frontline workers are being swept up in this cruel process.
Many of our members have pivoted away from their usual organizing work to respond to attacks in their communities. We’re proud to share some updates below, including many injustices but also some hard-won victories. Thank you for supporting immigrants in your community, FCWA, and our members.
LELO CHOOSES VOLUNTARY DEPARTURE
Farmworker and union leader Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez Zeferino was granted a voluntary departure on July 14, and is now back in Mexico with family and friends. Lelo had been in detention at the privately-run NW Detention Center in Tacoma, WA since March 25, after he was pulled out of his car and arrested by ICE while driving his partner to work.
In his four months of detention, Lelo had several hearings, but like hundreds of other people held at the Tacoma facility, he was denied bond. The judge who denied his bond is one of several at this facility claiming they don’t have jurisdiction to grant bonds to immigrants who entered the country without legal documentation. “They are the only immigration judges in the country choosing to interpret the law in this way,” reports The Stand. Lelo has joined a class action lawsuit by the NW Immigrant Rights Project to challenge this practice.
“We are relieved that he successfully removed himself from ICE’s inhumane treatment,” Community to Community Development said in their statement. “We value his wisdom and unwavering clarity that brought him to decide for voluntary departure…The conditions at Northwest ICE Processing Center have always been unacceptable, and we respect Lelo’s choice to remove himself from the continued physical and psychological violence of detention. It was increasingly clear to all of us that due process was not being followed, and no justice would be found.”
DELMY CHOOSES VOLUNTARY DEPARTURE
The Workers’ Center of Central NY has been fighting to free their member Delmy Rendon, who was arrested by Border Patrol when she got in a car accident during a snowstorm and sought help from neighbors who reported her to immigration authorities. Despite having been paroled into the country legally and having no criminal record, Delmy was held in ICE detention in Louisiana for nearly six months.
At the time of her arrest, Delmy and her husband Luis had been waiting for years for the immigration court to schedule their asylum case. And in a bond hearing in May, Delmy’s lawyer cited specific points of immigration law that clearly show she does not qualify to be put in expedited removal. However, the judge insisted he did not have jurisdiction to authorize bond. Delmy reserved her right to appeal this decision, but this week she made the difficult decision to accept a voluntary departure to Guatemala, separating her from her husband and daughters who remain in Northern NY. WCCNY reports that Delmy expressed deep gratitude for everyone who supported her, especially by sending letters describing what was happening outside. She also documented her experience in detention and will be sharing more stories of the conditions soon, to continue her activism and resistance.
IN VERMONT, DAIRY WORKERS KEEP GETTING DETAINED
After rallying around nine dairy workers detained in April (three of whom are now safely home!) two more Migrant Justice members were detained on June 14: Jose Ignacio “Nacho” De La Cruz was driving with his stepdaughter Heidi Perez when they were pulled over and detained after agents smashed their car window. Following a series of rallies and actions by the community, Nacho and Heidi were granted bail on July 10. “I am free thanks to all of you and to the entire immigrant community that was supporting us from day one” Nacho said upon his release. “Together we grow stronger every day. Join with Migrant Justice to fight for our rights. Sí se puede!” This latest detention happened as two landmark laws took effect in Vermont, both of which Nacho and Heidi had a hand in winning: The Education Equity Act guarantees in-state tuition rates and need-based financial aid at public colleges and universities for all Vermont students regardless of status; and the Housing Access for Immigrant Families Act prohibits landlords from requiring applicants to provide SSNs.
“Each time I go [to an ICE check-in], it’s with the same fear. When I walk into that building, it’s with the thought that I might not be able to go home, and I might not be able to see my children.” Wuendy Bernardo is an immigrant dairy worker and member of Migrant Justice in Vermont. She has been making periodic check-ins with immigration authorities since 2014. But since January, those appointments have become more frequent and more frightening. So supporters from the Migrant Justice community are accompanying her. At her most recent check-in, over 200 Vermonters were there to ensure she remained free. And last week, The Boston Globe published a story about Wuendy and her family’s close relationship with her employer, a self-described conservative farmer. “I consider them more than just employees. They’re part of the family.”
TELL THE NY FARM BUREAU: STAND UP FOR WORKERS!
In June, the Workers’ Center of Central NY and Alianza Agrícola published an open letter to the New York Farm Bureau on behalf of farmworkers, calling on the NYFB and agricultural employers to step up to protect immigrant farmworkers by: 1) Calling for immigration reform that respects labor rights; 2) Creating workplace safety plans; 3) Providing Know Your Rights education; and 4) Endorsing the New York for All Act, which would limit local law enforcement’s collaboration with ICE. You can add your name to the petition in support of these demands.
This week, WCCNY organizer Mina Aguilar uplifted the call in her must-read op-ed in the New York Daily News: “We’re calling on NYFB and the agricultural industry to call for nothing short of amnesty and immigration reform that is not based on labor exploitation,” Mina writes. “It is the most practical, economical, and moral solution. If the industry keeps pushing for half measures like temporary visas, we will continue to be plagued by labor abuses and shortages.”
PUSHING BACK AGAINST 287G AGREEMENTS IN FLORIDA
In February, Governor DeSantis directed all state law enforcement agencies to enter 287g agreements with ICE. But that directive does not necessarily apply to agencies at the local level throughout the state. As part of the Immigrants Are Welcome Here coalition, the Farmworker Association of Florida is pushing for their local police to cancel their agreement with ICE, meeting with Apopka police and the Orange County Mayor and Commissioners to stand up for immigrant communities. On July 15, the Commission declared Orange County will stop holding immigration detainees in its jail if they face no other criminal charges (a change to its current practice of holding all ICE detainees, regardless of their charges). They also voted down a proposal that would have allowed county corrections staff to transport ICE inmates to federal detention centers.
CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST DHS IN CALIFORNIA
As Trump and the federal government launched a full scale attack on immigrant communities in California, Warehouse Worker Resource Center and fellow members of the Los Angeles Worker Center Network filed a class action lawsuit against DHS for abducting and disappearing community members using unlawful stop and arrest practices, and confining individuals at a federal building in illegal conditions while denying them access to attorneys. A judge recently granted a Temporary Restraining Order in seven SoCal counties, which has brought some relief.
SUPPORT CATA’S WORK IN MARYLAND
El Comité de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas (CATA) is supporting immigrant farmworkers in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey. They’re doing organizing and outreach, providing direct services, and taking on legal fights like their landmark case with the ACLU, suing New Jersey for discriminating against farmworkers by not including them in the state’s minimum wage law. While ICE’s budget has been increased by billions, CATA just lost critical federal funding for their work supporting immigrant workers in Maryland. As their support staff shares:
“So many immigrant workers would lose access to vital information—about their rights, how to defend them, and how to access basic services.”
“We don’t just drop off flyers. We share meals, build trust, and bring hope.”
A donation to CATA today covers rent, food, or utility bills for a family in crisis; brings vital info and support to isolated rural communities, and sustains organizing and advocacy efforts.