For the second time in less than four months, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided the Lynn-Ette & Sons farm in Orleans County, upstate New York. The raid left seven workers detained – four Mexicans and three Guatemalans – several of them linked to the unionization effort promoted by the United Farm Workers(UFW).
The action has set off alarms in the agricultural community and labor rights organizations, which denounce a pattern of harassment against immigrant workers who try to organize.
Union reports labor persecution
The UFW union claims that these raids are aimed at curbing unionization on the farm.
Since 2020, there has been a legal framework in New York that recognizes the right of agricultural workers to a collective bargaining agreement.
In May 2024, the same farm was the scene of another raid that ended with 14 workers arrested.
Several of them were deported and others released on bail.
One of those affected in that raid was questioned again in this latest ICE raid.
“We are seeing an environment of fear, broken families and employers who, in some cases, seem to be collaborating with these actions,” stated Armando Elenes, secretary-treasurer of the UFW in New York.
Labor rights in question
UFW recalls that the Farmworker Fair Practices Act, in effect since 2020, guarantees the ability to organize unions and negotiate collective bargaining agreements.
However, many farms have refused to sit at the bargaining table, forcing the union to go to arbitration.
We are seeing an atmosphere of fear
Armando Elenes
In the case of Lynn-Ette & Sons, despite union certification, an agreement for permanent workers has not yet been implemented.
According to the UFW, this has left dozens of families without support in the face of ICE raids and deportations.
Human and social impact
Buzzy
The workers arrested in August left children, partners and financial commitments unresolved.
“Rent, food and bills don’t wait,” Elenes stressed, recalling that these families already face precarious working conditions and low wages.
The organization has activated emergency funds to cover bail bonds and legal representation.
In addition to reclaiming outstanding wage payments to workers deported in May, which remain withheld at the state Department of Labor.
Company position
Lynn-Ette & Sons did not respond to this second ICE raid.
However, following the May raid, it had expressed “deep concern” about the treatment of its employees, whom it described as “valued members” of its working community.
Meanwhile, New York’s agricultural community is watching with concern as these actions intensify fear among immigrant workers, who sustain much of the region’s vegetable and grain production.
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