ICE arrests 2,500 in Washington state as farm union links raids to avian flu outbreak

Summary

A records request shows ICE arrested 2,500 people in Washington state between March and August 2026, with Yakima County logging 445 arrests in three months.
Many of those arrested in Yakima County are dairy farm workers, most detained at traffic stops or check-ins with other enforcement agencies.
An avian flu outbreak in Yakima County has infected 33 dairy herds, killed one person, and produced three confirmed human cases.
The United Farm Workers claims fear of deportation is keeping infected workers from seeking treatment, deepening the public health crisis.
Yakima's dairy workers are mostly non-English-speaking immigrants, and the county's symptom hotline operates in English only.

United Farm Workers vice president Elizabeth Strater said ICE agents pick farm workers off one at a time like 'serial killers'.
Strater called for bilingual flu clinics, surveillance testing of workers rather than livestock, and pay for workers who miss work to test or quarantine.
Yakima Immigrant Response Network volunteer David Morales said ICE is splitting families apart and ripping the fabric out of the community.
A United Farm Workers spokeswoman told Seattle television that infected or exposed workers avoid doctors because they cannot miss work during ICE raids.
Strater said word of the danger spread among workers only after a person died, and that cats drinking raw milk on the farms are dying.

ICE compared to "serial killers" by farm unionnewsweek.com· 2d
A Newsweek article reports that ICE arrested 2,500 people in Washington state between March and August, with Yakima County logging 445 arrests in three months, and cites United Farm Workers' Elizabeth Strater saying agents pick farm workers off "like serial killers." Many arrested are dairy workers, and claims say fear of deportation is keeping avian-flu-infected workers from seeking treatment as the outbreak kills one and infects 33 herds.