Undocumented Workers/Migrants Exploited Because of Their Status
Amrutlal and Dakshaben Patel, Subway owners in Lexington, Kentucky, were indicted by the federal grand jury for knowingly harboring undocumented Indian nationals employed in their restaurants. The married couple was charged last month with four counts of harboring undocumented immigrants. In similar news, a Latino man by the name of Jose Gallegos was found guilty of transporting and harboring an undocumented immigrant earlier this month.
Gallegos, 47, was found at the Sarita Border Patrol checkpoint on Aug. 17 with an 18-year-old female Mexican national. The undocumented female testified during the trial that Gallegos and his associates smuggled her from Mexico to New Jersey. She also stated that the men forced her to wear provocative clothing and receive facial piercings, threatened her, and sexually assaulted her.
The unnamed woman was one of many women who were kept at a Palmview motel for two weeks prior to his arrest, according to authorities. Gallegos defended himself against the allegations in court, claiming that the government attacked him. He was later found guilty by the jury after a two-day trial with 45 minutes of deliberation. He now faces up to five years in prison, and up to $250,000 in fines. Sentencing will be held at a later date.
The Patels, 46, concealed four undocumented immigrants with the sole "purpose of commercial advantage and private financial gain," violating federal laws. The two have lived in the U.S. since 2006, and were arrested on Nov. 16 after federal agents raided their stores and home. The two are presently out on bond, and living under strict travel restrictions.
Mark Wohlander, the couple's attorney, claims that two were "miscast" and the allegations were sensationalized. He disputed statements that were mentioned in the affidavit, including notes that stated that a worker was kept locked in a secret room and beaten. Wohlander also alleges that his clients were doing nothing more than providing opportunities for their employees to survive in this country. He stated that their Hindu faith demands that they help fellow Indians.
"Help" came in the form of wages as low as $4 - $5 an hour; 10 - 12 hour work days, and up to seven day work weeks with no overtime, according to witnesses. They face up to ten years in prison, and up to $250,000 in fines.
Undocumented workers and foreign migrants suffer a specific type of exploitation when they come to America. Undocumented workers feel violations at every level. Labor and civil rights are violated and abused, and workers as young as 13 have to commit to positions with 17 hour work days. They're vulnerable because of their status -- withstanding unfair treatment and low-wages, and they become indebted to those who employ them because they know that there is a wealth of desperate workers who would gladly absorb their position.
Almost exclusively, undocumented women and children suffer at the hands of wolves who feign helpfulness, whose only intention is to violate and traffic them -- in attempts to grow the billion dollar human/sex trafficking industry. Like undocumented workers, victims of sex trafficking are vulnerable because of their status. Migrant smuggling operations go hand-in-hand with sex trafficking; and, victims are predominately Mexican, Eastern European, and Asian.
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