Apple farmworker detained at routine ICE check-in, judge orders her return to New York
May 26, 2026·Location: Rochester, NY
Country of origin: Mexico

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
Sources
- Supporters rally in Rochester for woman from Mexico detained by ICE
13wham.com·Apr 26, 2026·archived copy
- From New York to Louisiana, what's happened since ICE detained a Wayne County farmworker
wxxinews.org·Apr 27, 2026·archived copy
- Wayne County farm worker detained by ICE now held in Louisiana facility
WHEC·Apr 29, 2026·archived copy
- ICE check-in ends in detention for farmworker rights advocate
btpm.org·Apr 22, 2026·archived copy
- She's facing removal and has a check-in with ICE. Her lawyer is telling her not to go
wxxinews.org·Apr 21, 2026·archived copy
- Goleta grandmother detained again during routine immigration check-in, family says
KSBY·Nov 27, 2025·archived copy
- buffalonews.com
- Wayne County farm worker detained by ICE ordered to be returned to WNY
WHEC·May 1, 2026·archived copy
- Judge orders ICE to return Wayne County farmworker to New York
wxxinews.org·May 1, 2026·archived copy
- Judge promises quick ruling on whether ICE illegally detained Wayne County farmworker
wxxinews.org·May 26, 2026·archived copy
WRVO·May 26, 2026·archived copy
- timestelegram.com
- timestelegram.com
- fingerlakes1.com
- Wayne County farmworker given deadline to self-deport
wxxinews.org·May 29, 2026·archived copy
- Wayne County woman has 30 days to decide whether to self-deport or fight to stay in the US - Times of Wayne County
waynetimes.com·May 30, 2026·archived copy
- ICE seizes advocate for NY migrant farmworkers in Buffalo
investigativepost.org·Apr 22, 2026·archived copy
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