Less than 24 hours after a Wayne County apple farmworker was detained by ICE during a routine check-in appointment in Buffalo, the woman was transported more than 200 miles away to a county jail cell in Ohio.
Supporters fear immigration officials will swiftly deport Dolores Bustamante Romero back to Mexico. The 54-year-old grandmother and labor rights advocate has lived in the United States since 2003, when she fled an abusive husband with her young daughter. Attorneys have filed an emergency petition asking a federal judge to stop her imminent removal.
Bustamante, lawyers contend, is not a public safety risk and has complied with immigration proceedings and supervision requirements set by ICE. They said the federal agency violated Bustamante’s right to due process by re-detaining her without notice or evidence of “changed circumstances” related to her case.
“When an individual has already been released from custody, the government is not free to re-detain them without process,” the complaint argues.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Wayne County farmworker arrested by ICE during routine check-in
Bustamante first encountered immigration officials in 2014, after state troopers called Border Patrol to translate a traffic stop. She lost an asylum claim and subsequent appeals. A federal judge issued a final deportation order in 2023, but ICE did not arrest her and the order’s removal period ended. Instead, federal officials enrolled Bustamante into an “alternatives to detention” program that monitors low-priority cases while allowing them to live and work freely.
Then, the Trump administration pressed ICE to ramp up operations in mid-2025. Thousands of immigrants have been arrested at routine check-ins nationwide.
Bustamante was asked to report to the agency’s Buffalo field office on April 22. An attorney encouraged her to skip the appointment, according to WXXI, but Bustamante refused, saying she wanted to “do things the right way” and would not live in fear as a fugitive.
Federal records show she was transferred to Mahoning County Jail in Youngstown, Ohio, shortly after her arrest.
In a statement, U.S. Congressman Joe Morelle called Bustamante’s detention by ICE part of the agency’s “unchecked reign of cruelty.”
“Donald Trump talked about deporting ‘murderers and rapists,’ the worst of the worst,'” Morelle said. “It turns out that was a blatant lie. Dolores is not a criminal. She is a mother, a worker, and a neighbor who has built her life here in Rochester. Ripping her away from her family and moving her across state lines without transparency or accountability is not about public safety. It is the direct result of Trump-era immigration policies that prioritize cruelty, chaos and fear over fairness and the rule of law.”
Supporters called Bustamante a community leader. She lobbied for better working conditions for farmworkers across the Finger Lakes and helped her peers lodge sexual harassment and health complaints. She started a community garden, supported coworkers through the COVID-19 pandemic and helped immigrant families apply for driver’s licenses.
She has two adult daughters, one of whom is a lawful permanent resident who will apply for naturalization later this year. Attorneys argue that could create a path for Bustamante to obtain a visa, if she is not deported.
Family members have started a GoFundMe to cover legal costs.
— Kayla Canne covers community safety for the Democrat and Chronicle with a focus on immigration, police accountability, government surveillance and how people are impacted by violence. Follow her on Instagram @bykaylacanne. Get in touch at kcanne@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Farmworker and beloved advocate arrested by ICE, sent out of state
Reporting by Kayla Canne, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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