The federal criminal case against a worker detained during a September immigration raid at a Cayuga County factory has been dismissed, but her attorney tells the Auburn Citizen she is still expected to be deported.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Brenda Sannes dismissed the case against Argentina Juarez-Lopez after federal prosecutors moved to drop the charges, citing insufficient evidence. Juarez-Lopez had been charged with illegally reentering the United States.
The motion to dismiss was filed on Christmas Eve by Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and John Sarcone, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York. Judge Sannes signed the dismissal order on Monday, officially terminating the case.
Juarez-Lopez’s attorney, Paul Tuck, said the dismissal was “inevitable” after the court granted a defense motion to suppress key evidence. Tuck said prosecutors indicated they did not intend to appeal that ruling.
However, Tuck also confirmed that Juarez-Lopez is now in immigration custody and is expected to be deported. He said an immigration detainer had already been placed on her, meaning she would be transferred to federal immigration authorities even if the criminal case was dismissed.
Juarez-Lopez was one of five workers charged with illegal reentry following a large-scale immigration enforcement operation at Nutrition Bar Confectioners, a granola bar manufacturing facility in the Town of Cato.
Federal agents conducted the raid on September 4, detaining 69 workers at the plant. Some were later released, but authorities determined that 57 of those detained were in the country illegally. Five workers — including Juarez-Lopez — were charged criminally because they had previously been deported and were accused of illegally returning to the U.S.
The dismissal of Juarez-Lopez’s case brings an end to the federal criminal prosecutions stemming from the Cato factory raid, though immigration proceedings for some of the workers are still ongoing.
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