WNY farm targeted again by ICE
During the early hours of August 14, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents launched a raid on the Lynn-Ette & Sons Farms, a sprawling 8,000-acre farm in Orleans County that specializes in growing snap beans, cabbage, and squash. ICE agents detained four Mexican workers and three Guatemalan workers.
The recent arrests at Lynn-Ette are the farm’s second ICE raid in the past three months. In May, a similar raid saw federal agents detain 14 workers.
“Once again, workers at Lynn-Ette farms were targeted,” said Armando Elenes, United Farm Workers secretary treasurer, in a statement shared with Documented. “Once again, multiple workers were taken. And once again, business as usual continues for Lynn-Ette’s owners and management.”…
Ultimately, 10 workers from the May raid were deported, while the UFW was able to secure the release of four workers on bond. Four of the people who were deported were a family of Guatemalan workers who were leading the effort to unionize Lynn-Ette farms. With the arrest and deportation of active labor leaders, the UFW believes there is a connection between the raids and the farm’s efforts to unionize….
Lynn-Ette owners did not respond to Documented’s request for comment, but in a statement published by a local news outlet, the owners denied having any contact with ICE or knowledge of the raid in May…