Alfredo Juárez Zeferino

Alfredo Juarez Zeferino (known as Lelo; born 2000) is a farmworker, community organizer, and immigrant to the United States. He helped found Familias Unidas por la Justicia and pass heat exposure regulation in Washington. In March 2025, he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Early life Lelo was born in a small town in the mountains of Guerrero, Mexico in 2000 At age 13, he helped found a local farmworkers' union called Familias Unidas por la Justicia. The union is led by Edgar Franks

At age 15, he was arrested for driving the wrong way on a one-way street. He did not have a license and lied to police about his age. He was taken to the ICE detention center in Tacoma, Washington and then released on account of his age. Lelo filed racial profiling complaints about the local police department after the incident.

Activism

Lelo is an organizing member of Community to Community Development, a farmworkers' advocacy group. Franks credits Lelo with helping to pass the 2021 state standards around heat exposure for farmworkers. Other farmworkers say Lelo helped them talk to lawmakers and strike. He said he also organized support for Washington's rent cap law which passed while he was detained.

Arrest by ICE Lelo applied for DACA in 2015. Courts ordered he be deported in 2018, but he was not arrested by ICE until March 25, 2025. Lelo claims to have been unaware of the deportation order. However the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denied political motivation and said he was "illegal alien from Mexico with a final order of removal from a judge". U.S. Senator Patty Murray highlighted the importance of Lelo's and Dixon's cases. In response to the arrest, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen stated, In arrests across the country, the Trump Administration and ICE have claimed that they are going after “the worst of the worst” — but there is no indication that Alfredo Juarez Zeferino and the other people detained today represent the worst of the worst. Immigrating to the United States is legal. Union organizing is legal.

Kim Lund, mayor of Bellingham, Washington, stated, Lelo is a leader in our area whose activism has helped shine a vital spotlight on immigrant and farmworker needs and rights. His voice represents the thousands of people who work in our region providing essential services that sustain us all. He was a valuable contributor to City advisory group activities, in support of our shared goal of maintaining and protecting the rights and dignity of all residents. The bond hearing drew attendance from 60 supporters.

After his three and half month imprisonment in a GEO Group detention center, Lelo said he organized a hunger protest in response to being served unsafe chicken. He further said there were only six opportunities to go outside during his confinement.