Federal Court Orders BLH Client Dolores Bustamante Released
- May 27
- 1 min read
NEW YORK, NY. (May 27, 2026) –
Judge Meredith A. Vacca ordered the release of BLH Client Dolores Bustamante from prison today, after granting her habeas corpus petition. Ms. Bustamante is grandmother to four U.S. citizens, long time farm worker in New York, and advocate for labor and immigration rights. Ms. Bustamante was instrumental in getting Gov. Andrew Cuomo to issue executive order in 2017 that banned State Police from inquiring about a driver’s immigration status and in the campaign to enact New York’s Green Light Law in 2017, which allows residents to apply for a driver's license regardless of citizenship or lawful immigration status.
She was detained by ICE at a scheduled check in at the ICE Buffalo Field Office on April 22, 2026, without any prior notice or other procedural due process protections. ICE immediately transported her to a prison in Louisiana, before the Court ordered her returned, and then released.
Ms. Bustamante is represented by Matthew Melewski and Jeremy Ravinsky of Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP, Sarah T. Gillman and Sarah E. Decker of Robert and Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, and Rhidaya S. Trivedi of Law Office of Ronald L. Kuby.
