On Thursday, Selena Hidalgo Calderon's family thanked the farmworkers who have come forward to try and help solve the 18-year-old`s murder as they continue to seek answers into her death. Her mother, Estela Calderon, and the Workers Center of New York released a joint statement.
"Even in this current climate, where immigrant communities have a deep fear and mistrust of law enforcement, farmworkers have been providing statements to law enforcement and supporting the family. What we have heard from the farmworker community is that they are extremely unsettled by the fact that a killer may have been in their midst."
A local advocate and former migrant worker says it's not easy for migrants to speak out.
“You don’t make enough, not even a minimum wage, and that`s where the farmers actually take advantage of the people,” said former migrant worker and Rural Migrant Ministry representative, Librada Paz.
Librada Paz is originally from Mexico and came to the United States when she was 15 years old.
“One day of work here could be the whole week over there in Mexico,” said Paz.
For 10 years, she worked as migrant worker in Florida, Ohio and in Orleans and Monroe counties. She remembers long hours, no water, poor living conditions and abuse.
“Can you imagine working 12 hours of work without having any break? That’s ridiculous,” she says.
Selena Hildago Calderon was also a migrant farm worker. The 18-year-old was found murdered in a wooded area on Joy Road Farm. Her boyfriend Alberto Reyes has been charged in connection with her death. He had been previously deported in 2016 and 2017.
“They don’t want to lose the job and so they rather just stay quietly and for that reason they don’t come together and be the voices themselves.”
Although, Reyes was deported back to Mexico twice, he still was rehired at the farm.
“If they`ve been deported they would come back to work again and then when they come back if the farmer knew that this worker was a great worker for them of course they would take them back,” said Paz.
The RIT graduate is now an advocate for the rights of farmworkers as a vessel for the Rural Migrant Ministry. She is also a survivor.
“I am so happy to be alive. I would not have known what would have happened to me at that time when the supervisor wanted to assault me because we were alone in a very abandoned farm camp. I still see the same thing that is happening,” said Paz.
She hopes by sharing her story it will give courage to someone else to unmute their silence and be heard.
In response to this story the New York Farm Bureau says there is no excuse for mistreatment of any kind and released a statement:
"It is also important to understand the economic climate in farming today. There is an extreme labor shortage. Farms must pay competitive wages and provide good working conditions to attract and keep quality employees," said Steve Ammerman of the NYS Farmers Bureau.
"While incidents are far from the norm on farms today, any incident should be immediately reported to proper authorities. New York Farm Bureau has been vocal in its advocacy and support of anti human trafficking laws and immigration reform that will help bring migrant workers who may be fearful of immigration enforcement out of the shadows. Our farmers value the men and women who help plant, harvest and care for the animals and we will continue to fight for their ability to work on our farms to make a better life for themselves and their families."