Press Release: 3 farmworkers deported; 6 fighting for freedom

Posted Wed, 05/07/2025 - 4:02pm

Government continues persecution of Vermont farmworkers detained by Border Patrol

Press Contacts

May 7th, Burlington, VT - Of the nine members of Vermont’s farmworker community detained by Border Patrol in April, three have been deported to Mexico while six others remain in immigration detention. Community supporters and elected officials are continuing to advocate for the release of those held in detention.

On April 21st, armed Border Patrol agents entered a Franklin County farm and detained eight workers in one of the largest worksite detentions in recent Vermont history. Less than two weeks prior, on April 9th, Border Patrol agents pulled over and detained Arbey Lopez as he was driving to the same farm to deliver groceries to the workers.

The recent detentions received national news coverage and have generated widespread condemnation and concern over their impact on Vermont’s dairy industry. Statements from Governor Phil Scott, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Representative Becca Balint all express concern over the arrests, and Senator Peter Welch raised the issue on April 30th in pointed questioning during the Senate confirmation hearing of a Trump nominee.

Vermont-based human rights organization Migrant Justice has led community rallies urging the release of the detainees and a stop to their deportations, with hundreds marching in Burlington, VT on April 24th and thousands marching to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Williston, VT on May 1st. Petitions calling for the release of the eight farmworkers and Mr. Lopez have garnered thousands of signatures. 

A letter from Vermont elected officials supporting the detainees and decrying the detentions has been published today, signed by Lieutenant Governor John Rodgers, Speaker of the House Jill Krowinski, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, and nearly 100 additional legislators.

Despite the outcry of support, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun to transfer and deport the farmworkers, denying them due process protections. Luis Enrique Gomez-Aguilar, Urillas Sargento, and Dani Alvarez-Perez were transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana over the weekend. All have subsequently been deported to Mexico without their consent. 

The current detention status of each is as follows:

  • Detained at FCI Berlin in Berlin, NH: Arbey Lopez-Lopez (35 years old)
  • Detained at Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans, VT
    • Jesus Mendez Hernandez (25 years old)
    • Diblaim Maximo Sargento-Morales (30 years old)
    • Adrian Zunun-Joachin (22 years old)
    • Jose Edilberto Molina-Aguilar (37 years old)
  • Detained at Alexandra Staging Facility, Alexandria, LA: Juan Javier Rodriguez-Gomez (41 years old)
  • Deported
    • Luis Enrique Gomez-Aguilar (28 years old)
    • Urillas Sargento (32 years old)
    • Dani Alvarez-Perez (22 years old)

Brett Stokes of the Center for Justice Reform of Vermont Law and Graduate School leads the legal team representing the eight farmworkers detained on April 21st. Responding to the deportation of his clients, he said: “ICE has deported three farmworkers without due process, in clear violation of their rights. It appears that the agency is relying on an unprecedented and unsupported expansion of its ‘expedited removal’ authority for people who have been in the country less than two years. We will fight for justice for those unjustly deported and will continue to move for the release of those still in detention.”

Enrique Balcazar, spokesperson with Migrant Justice, denounced the deportations: “ICE and Border Patrol are persecuting our community. We condemn the deportations of Luis, Urillas, and Dani, but we aren’t giving up. We are fighting for those who are still behind bars and won’t rest until they are free and back with their families and community in Vermont.”

Arbey Lopez, who was detained prior to the other eight, has a hearing scheduled with an immigration judge for May 15th to determine whether he will be eligible for release on bond. The remaining farmworkers in detention have yet to receive a hearing date