Special to the NEWS
BROWNSVILLE, TX — The two owners of a Los Fresnos establishment have been charged with harboring illegal aliens, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei in an official statement about the February raid on the bakery.
As reported by the NEWS last week, Leonardo Baez, 55, and Alicia Avila-Guel, 46, both legal permanent residents of the United States, were originally charged by criminal complaint following a lawful enforcement action on Feb. 12. A federal grand jury has now returned a three-count indictment against them, reads the Justice Department’s statement. They are expected to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ignacio Torteya III on March 13.
Baez and Avila-Guel have owned and operated Abby’s Bakery and Dulce’s Café in Los Fresnos since 2012, according to the charges.
The investigation began after authorities allegedly discovered the pair were potentially employing and housing illegal aliens within their restaurant, U.S. Attorney’s statement reads.
The charges allege that law enforcement conducted a “consensual” worksite enforcement action at Abby’s Bakery and Dulce’s Café. There, they allegedly identified several employees and others who were in the United States illegally or in the country under B1/B2 visas without having the right to work.
The charges allege that both Baez and Avila-Guel illegally hired these individuals to work in their restaurant while harboring them.
According to the criminal complaint, law enforcement identified a room provided for employees in the same shopping plaza as the restaurant. It was allegedly housing two employees at the time of inspection who were unauthorized to work in the United States. It’s described as a rectangular room with six mattresses on the floor, according to the charges.
The worksite enforcement action allegedly resulted in the discovery of two illegal aliens unlawfully present in the United States and six B1/B2 Visa holders who did not have the right to work in the United States. Another individual was allegedly taken into custody on an outstanding warrant unrelated to the current enforcement action.
Authorities executed arrest warrants on Feb. 19 for Baez and Avila-Guel. At that time, no one else was taken into custody or detained.
If convicted, both face up to 10 years in federal prison as well as a fine up to $250,000.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
“All things considered, they’re resilient people. They were really happy when the judge granted them permission to continue operating and get back to work…And of course, distraught,” said Sergio Villarreal, the attorney defending Baez as reported in last week’s edition of the NEWS.
Jaime Diez, the attorney defending Avila-Guel, further confirmed the results from the hearing. He called the situation “scary,” mentioning the charges made against the owners could be allied to many other people in the area.
“These are scary, dark times we’re living in. This just set a scary precedent for what’s going to happen in the area now,” added Villarreal.
While the owners have enjoyed support from the public, there are also those who support the actions of law enforcement.
“They know what they’re doing is illegal. Why do they put themselves in those compromising situations? They literally put themselves in jail… Respect the law, point blank, period, or you will find yourselves in these situations,” writes Pamela Rodriguez in a Facebook post.
However, they also received words of support, “Remember, God’s will is more powerful than evil that wants to see you down. But with God’s love, everything becomes better. God bless you always and your business,” commented Fernando Garcia.
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