Feds bust ‘modern-day slavery’ ring amid new immigration enforcement

At least 100 immigrant workers were freed from conditions in which at least two had died, another was repeatedly raped, and others were kidnapped and threatened with death.

Two dozen people were indicted in Georgia last month on charges of smuggling Mexican and Central American immigrants to the United States and forcing them to live in camps and work on farms in the state in what authorities say was an illegal enterprise akin to “modern-day slavery.”

 

Named “Operation Blooming Onion,” the yearslong probe brought together multiple federal agencies to investigate a “transnational criminal organization” that allegedly engaged in human trafficking, visa fraud, forced labor, mail fraud, money laundering, and other crimes that earned the collaborators more than $200 million.

The collaborators of the ring are accused of taking advantage of and defrauding the federal visa program for guest farm workers, known as H-2A, to bring immigrant workers from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and other countries to the United States.

 

At least two workers died under the working conditions, another was repeatedly raped, while others were kidnapped and threatened with death, according to the allegations in the indictment. Workers were also forced to work at gunpoint, the court documents say, earning 20 cents for each bucket of onions they dug up with their hands. Some were sold to farms in other states.

The defendants face charges that can carry up to a life sentence.

The operation represents one of the country’s largest human-trafficking and visa fraud investigations, according to the Department of Justice.

 

It is also the first under a new model pursued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, that deepens its focus on employer accountability, rather than the immigrant workers that are being taken advantage of.

In October, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a memo directing immigration authorities to cease the massive worksite raids that were used as an enforcement tactic under then-President Donald Trump.

 

Mayorkas said the tactic, which led to the arrests of sometimes hundreds of unauthorized immigrants, was not focused on “exploitative employers.”

This operation illustrates ICE’s effort to further focus on aiding immigrant victims and cracking down on employers who take advantage of visa programs and unauthorized workers, said two ICE officials who are familiar with the case and the shift in priorities and who asked not to be identified because they were not permitted to speak publicly.

 

The hope, the officials said, is to work with the immigrant communities and change the perception of ICE among groups that have historically been suspicious of the law enforcement agency, so that immigrants or exploited workers feel comfortable coming forward to aid investigations.

 

“We want to have them cooperate with us to go at these employers who are kind of using this underserved population as a means to increase their bottom line,” one of the officials said.

 

In this case, more than 100 workers were freed “from the shackles of modern-day slavery,” David Estes, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, said in a statement, adding that the operation “will hold accountable those who put them in chains.”

“The American dream is a powerful attraction for destitute and desperate people across the globe, and where there is need, there is greed from those who will attempt to exploit these willing workers for their own obscene profits,” he said.

 

The first of about two dozen named defendants, and the person for whom the “transnational criminal organization” described in the indictment appears to be named, is Maria Leticia Patricio, 70, of Nichols, Georgia. She was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, two counts of mail fraud, conspiracy to engage in forced labor, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

 

Patricio pleaded not guilty, and Juanita Holsey Bostick, the lawyer who represents Patricio, according to court documents, declined to comment. Other named defendants who have been arraigned in court have also pleaded not guilty.

Three of the defendants — Victoria Chavez Hernandez, Jose Carmen Duque Tovar, and Rodolfo Martinez Maciel — are “considered fugitives and actively are being sought,” the Department of Justice said Thursday. They face charges ranging from conspiracy to commit mail fraud to forced labor.

 

“This is an ongoing investigation,” said Barry Paschal, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Georgia. “I’m sure there will be plenty more to come out of this in the months and years to come.”

 

The criminal enterprise was allegedly widespread and operated within Georgia, Florida, Texas, Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. Court documents state that the defendants would threaten the victims with violence and deportation; charge them exorbitant fees they couldn’t afford for transportation housing and food, and withhold travel and identification documents to force them to work.