For a Yakima Valley farmworker, Trump’s immigration crackdown prompts a wrenching decision to self-deport

An innovator in the apple orchards separates from her family to return to Mexico. In Congress, a bi-partisan bill to legalize many undocumented workers struggles to gain a hearing.

By: Hal Bernton and Daisy Zavala Magaña

Outlets: RANGE Media

Published: July 8, 2026

Words: 2,419

Last Updated: 2 days, 18 hours ago

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In early January, Flor Sánchez departed from her Yakima Valley home in Sunnyside, leaving behind her husband and then six-year-old son — both U.S. citizens — to self-deport to Sinaloa, Mexico.

For 12 years, she worked in the fruit orchards of central Washington, one of thousands of undocumented men and women who remain a vital part of the labor force in a region that produces most of the nation’s apples.

Sánchez, 41, had hoped to gain …

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