Syracuse hospital workers honored after ICE detention, asylum fight continues
Two Upstate Medical University workers who spent four months in ICE custody were honored by labor leaders as their asylum case kept moving. Their detention galvanized unions, officials and hundreds at a Syracuse rally.
Labor leaders in Syracuse used this year’s Struggle of the Year Award to turn a painful immigration fight into a public show of solidarity. Alcibiades “Alex” Lazaro Ramirez González and Yannier “Yan” Vázquez Hildago, two Upstate Medical University Environmental Services workers, were recognized Monday night by the Syracuse Labor Council while their asylum case remained unresolved.
The couple’s case has become one of the clearest examples of how immigration enforcement has rippled through local labor circles. Union officials said González and Vázquez are Cuban refugees seeking asylum, married, and homeowners in North Syracuse. Both had worked at Upstate since 2022 and 2024, and both were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Oct. 29, 2025, before a scheduled immigration hearing in Syracuse. They were taken to the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, where they remained for months.
Their release in February did not end the case. A federal immigration judge ordered both men deported to Ecuador in January, and both filed appeals that month. United University Professions said González received a bond order on Feb. 12, 2026, and by Feb. 17 and 18 both men were free on bond, with Vázquez’s bond set at $5,000. Their asylum proceedings continued after their release.
Support for the couple widened quickly across Onondaga County and beyond. Gov. Kathy Hochul met with the families on Nov. 1, 2025, and condemned the detention. State Sens. Chris Ryan and Rachel May also met with them. A Nov. 10 rally outside the Syracuse Federal Building drew hundreds of union members, elected officials and community supporters, underscoring how the case had moved from a private legal battle into a broader labor cause.
At the Greater Syracuse Labor Council’s annual awards ceremony at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown, the honor reflected that shift. CSEA president Ali Cottrell said support for the couple had been overwhelming, and union leaders framed the case as proof that workers can be caught in immigration enforcement even while following legal procedures. United University Professions and CSEA have both said the men were moving lawfully through the system and deserved due process.
After their release from Batavia, González and Vázquez thanked supporters who stood with them through the detention and the months that followed. The award marked more than sympathy for two workers. It showed how Syracuse unions have come to define solidarity around immigration, worker protection and the pressure facing families who are trying to stay in compliance while fighting to remain together.
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