Houston raid part of multistate human smuggling case
Source: Houston Chronicle
Teams of federal immigration agents launched a tri-state human trafficking crackdown in southwest Houston by raiding two employment agencies in the Chinatown area, the alleged center of a large conspiracy that supplied hundreds of undocumented Hispanic kitchen workers to Chinese restaurants.
The workers were exploited by the owners and managers of Chinese restaurants who recruited them, who paid them less than minimum wage and deducted rent payments for cramped living quarters they assigned them, said Brian Moskowitz, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Houston.
"You have two businesses, two placement agencies, that in essence built a business model where the commodity was illegal workers," said Moskowitz. "They acquired and delivered illegal workers to greedy restaurant owners around the country."
ICE agents arrested Lina Sun, 54, owner of the Long Li Job Agency at 9107 Bellaire Blvd. and a competitor several doors away, Chenglun Ma, 57, owner of Tai Shan Employment Agency, of 9115 Bellaire Blvd., agents confirmed.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-raid-part-of-multistate-human-smuggling-5188938.php
