Wayne County farmworker and immigrant rights advocate Dolores Bustamante was released from ICE detention Wednesday evening following a federal judge’s order.
Bustamante was released from the Allegany County Jail around 7 p.m.
She had been detained last month during a scheduled check-in with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and was later transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana. She was recently moved back to New York ahead of a court hearing Tuesday in Rochester.
During that hearing, Bustamante’s attorneys argued ICE failed to provide the required notice and hearing before revoking her supervised release last month. According to court records, government attorneys were unable to provide documentation identifying who made the decision to revoke her release or when the decision was made.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Meredith Vacca ordered that Bustamante be returned to supervised release status. The judge also ruled that if ICE seeks to detain her again in the future, the agency must first provide written notice explaining the reason for revocation and ensure the decision is made by an authorized official. The ruling further states that Bustamante must receive a prompt informal interview after any future detention to allow her an opportunity to respond.
Bustamante was scheduled to report to ICE offices in Buffalo on Thursday morning for what supporters described as an “alternatives to detention” meeting related to her supervised release.
Bustamante came to the United States from Mexico with her youngest daughter in 2003 while fleeing domestic violence. She moved to New York in 2012 and has worked on apple farms in Wayne County. She has remained on supervised release since receiving a final order of removal in 2023.
