23-05-2025
Judge in Texas frees one Vermont farm worker on bond; denies bail to two others
BURLINGTON, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) — An immigration judge has released one Vermont dairy worker detained last month by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, but denied bail to two others who will remain in custody in Texas.
Jose Edilberto Molina-Aguilar was ordered released Thursday from an immigration processing center in Karnes County, Texas. He is one of eight workers at Pleasant Valley Farms in Berkshire who were detained by ICE on April 21.
Four of the workers have already been deported to Mexico.
Two other farmworkers held in detention – Jesus Mendez Hernandez and Adrian Zunun-Joachin – were denied bond and will remain in custody in Texas, Migrant Justice said.
Over the weekend, another worker detained on April 21, Diblaim Maximo Sargento-Morales, returned to Vermont after being released by a Massachusetts judge on May 17.
Meanwhile, a farm worker detained by border patrol agents during a traffic stop last month was released today from a federal prison in Berlin, New Hampshire, Migrant Justice says.
Arbey Lopez-Lopez was pulled over by Border Patrol on April 9 while delivering groceries to a farm. He was ordered released Monday by an immigration judge, the group says.
The advocacy group Migrant Justice says Molina-Aguilar's bond will be paid by the Vermont Freedom Fund.
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