An Edinburg couple pleaded guilty Wednesday to forcing three people illegally present in the United States to work for them without pay.
Eduardo Javier Gomez, 32, and his former partner, Margarita Alvarez, 40, were accused of and pleaded guilty to benefiting from forced labor from June 24 until July 8, 2021.
The couple was arrested after Homeland Security Investigation special agents learned they forced three family members — two men and one woman — to babysit and do housework; to work at a fireworks stand; and to sell drugs outside of a bar, according to a criminal complaint.
“Those subjected to domestic servitude are robbed of their dignity and freedom,” U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani said in a news release for the Southern District of Texas. “Thankfully, this victim was rescued quickly thanks to the efforts of law enforcement. Now, this couple will pay the price for their despicable crimes and we can begin to bring some closure to the victim.”
According to the release, authorities discovered that the family members had been smuggled into the Rio Grande Valley and were being held against their will.
The New York Police Department had been in contact with one family member’s sister and was told that her family had paid smugglers $4,500 for each family member to be smuggled into the U.S.
Once the trio had arrived, the smugglers told the sister’s husband that they needed about $12,000 in order for them to be smuggled into Houston. They requested around $6,000 to initiate the trip and an additional $6,000 once they arrived at the city.
“Rather than smuggling (the three family members) to Houston, the smugglers transferred (the trio) to another smuggler…” the complaint said.
The family had been transferred to Gomez in Edinburg.
The sister told authorities that once her family members had arrived at Gomez’s residence, he took their cellphones away and she was only able to contact them by calling Gomez.
Because the sister’s husband refused to send any more additional money, Gomez said he would make the family members work to pay off their smuggling fees.
The family members spoke “an indigenous dialect” in addition to Spanish and used this to communicate with the sister and her husband using Gomez’s phone. This is how the sister learned that the family members were living with Gomez and was working as a babysitter and would clean his home.
Additionally, two family members were forced to work at a firework stand and the other was forced to sell drugs outside a bar called Los Amigos in Edinburg.
The complaint further states that the three weren’t allowed to spend time together or to be alone at any given time.
On July 8, 2021, Homeland Security Investigations McAllen Special Agents conducted surveillance at Gomez’s residence on Saturn Street where they observed a tan SUV leave the residence occupied by two adult females and three children.
They arrived at a residence on East Pebble Drive in Mission and after two hours, the five re-entered the vehicle and drove away from the residence.
A deputy from the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office observed the vehicle to be driving 40 mph where the speed limit was 30 mph and conducted a traffic stop.
During the traffic stop, Alvarez was identified as the driver and one of the family members was her passenger, who was discovered to be illegally present in the country. Alvarez and her three children were all U.S. citizens.
The special agents interviewed the female family member who admitted to being smuggled into the country two weeks ago with her two cousins and had been passed off between two smugglers before arriving with Gomez.
She stated that she would observe Gomez prepare a white powdery substance she believed to be cocaine and would frequently see him display a firearm in front of her and her cousins.
Alvarez was also interviewed and stated she had observed Gomez carry a firearm and suspected he was involved in human smuggling.
The next day, at about 1:45 a.m., Gomez went to the Mission Police Department looking for his family.
The department contacted HSI McAllen and upon arrival attempted to interview Gomez who refused. He was then taken into federal custody.
The two male family members were later discovered at Gomez’s sister’s residence in Edinburg.
“Unauthorized workers should never be afraid to report unlawful labor practices such as substandard wages, unsafe working conditions, and other forms of worker exploitation,” Acting Deputy Special Agent in Charge Mark Lippa, of HSI Harlingen, said. “By focusing on exploitative employers, HSI is protecting the American labor market, the conditions of our country’s workplaces, and the dignity of the individual workers.”
Gomez will remain in custody pending sentencing and Alvarez has been permitted to remain on bond, according to the release.
Sentencing for the former couple has been set for early May before Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa.
