Secretary Napolitano and USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas Announce Anti-Fraud Enhancements to E-Verify

Secretary Napolitano and USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas Announce Anti-Fraud Enhancements to E-Verify

Release Date: November 10, 2010

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

WASHINGTON–Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas today announced the expansion of the E-Verify program's capabilities to include U.S. passport photo matching—further enhancing the integrity of the program by enabling E-Verify to automatically check the validity and authenticity of all U.S. passports and passport cards presented for employment verification checks.

"E-Verify is a smart, simple and effective tool that helps employers and businesses throughout the nation maintain a legal workforce," said Secretary Napolitano. "Including U.S. passport photo matching in E-Verify will enhance our ability to detect counterfeit documents and combat fraud."

"U.S. passport photo matching is another in the long line of enhancements we have made to improve the integrity of the E-Verify system," said Director Mayorkas. "Adding U.S. passport photos expands our current photo matching efforts and will play a significant role in preventing and detecting the use of fraudulent documents—all part of major anti-fraud initiatives undertaken by the Department."

Beginning today, E-Verify employers are now able to verify the identity of new employees who present a U.S passport or passport card by comparing that data with State Department records. Approximately 10 percent of all E-Verify queries currently provide a U.S. passport to establish both identity and employment authorization in order to prove employment eligibility.

Since September 2007, E-Verify has provided photo matching capabilities to employers throughout the nation to verify the identity of new employees when they presented employment authorization documents or permanent resident cards as proof of identity and work authorization for the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.

E-Verify is a free, easy-to-use web-based system—operated by DHS in partnership with the Social Security Administration—that enables participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their employees. E-Verify is now used by more than 230,000 employers at more than 800,000 worksites.

For more information, visit www.dhs.gov/e-verify.

Three Colombian Nationals Plead Guilty to Alien Smuggling and Visa Fraud Charges

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Three Colombian Nationals Plead Guilty to Alien Smuggling and Visa Fraud Charges

WASHINGTON – Three Colombian nationals pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to smuggle aliens for profit and conspiracy to commit visa fraud in connection with their roles in an extensive and sophisticated visa fraud scheme through which they fraudulently procured visas from the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia. The guilty pleas were announced today by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. of the District of Columbia; Director John Morton of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and Eric J. Boswell, Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security and Director of the Office of Foreign Missions, U.S. State Department.

Heliber Toro Mejia, 52; Humberto Toro Mejia, 60; and Luz Elena Acuna Rios, 53; all of Bogotá, pleaded guilty in Washington, D.C., before U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle. At sentencing, scheduled for Dec. 6, 2010, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for profit and five years in prison for conspiracy to commit visa fraud. Each defendant is also subject to a maximum fine of $250,000 for each charge.

The defendants were charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia on Feb. 4, 2009. The defendants were arrested on June 2, 2009, by Colombian authorities in Bogotá on provisional arrest warrants in response to a U.S. government request for their arrest and were subsequently extradited to the United States for prosecution.

Heliber Toro Mejia, Humberto Toro Mejia and Rios admitted that they operated an extensive and sophisticated visa fraud ring that profited by assisting otherwise inadmissible Colombian nationals in fraudulently procuring visas from the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá. According to plea documents, to support the visa applications of alien applicants, the defendants and other conspirators created fictitious backgrounds for the aliens and fraudulent supporting documentation, including paperwork that appeared to be official Colombian government-issued documents such as tax filings and birth and marriage certificates. According to plea documents, the conspirators coached the aliens on how to pass the visa interview at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá by answering questions untruthfully as well as how to lie to U.S. immigration authorities about their backgrounds when entering the United States. The defendants admitted to assisting more than 100 aliens in fraudulently obtaining or attempting to fraudulently obtain a U.S. visa during the course of the conspiracy. According to plea documents, many of those aliens who did obtain a fraudulently-procured visa used that visa to enter the United States.

As part of the plea agreements, the defendants also agreed to forfeit assets related to the alien smuggling and visa fraud scheme, including an office in Bogotá and $234,533 in proceeds. The defendants agreed to fully assist the governments of the United States and the Republic of Colombia in the identification and location of all directly forfeitable property and substitute assets and to pass clear title to directly forfeitable property and substitute assets to the United States. If requested by the U.S. government, the defendants also agreed to voluntarily forfeit to the government of Colombia any and all assets which are subject to forfeiture as the result of their criminal activities.

The guilty pleas are the result of “Operation Coffee Country,” a coordinated international investigation by the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Attaché’s Office in Bogotá and the Diplomatic Security Service - Regional Security Office in Bogotá. The ICE HSI Special Agent in Charge for in Washington, D.C., and the Diplomatic Security Service - Criminal Investigations Division provided substantial assistance.

The government of Colombia, including the Colombian Department of Administrative Security and Colombian prosecutors, provided significant assistance and support during the investigation, arrest and extradition of the defendants. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá worked with their counterparts in Colombia to effect the extradition.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney James S. Yoon of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Frederick W. Yette of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Significant assistance from the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs was provided by Trial Attorney Nicolette Romano. Trial Attorney Jean Weld from the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section also provided assistance.

Abercrombie & Fitch fined after I-9 audit

Abercrombie & Fitch fined after I-9 audit

DETROIT - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) announced today a $1,047,110 fine settlement reached with the clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch for violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act related to an employer's obligation to verify the employment eligibility of its workers.

The settlement is the result of a November 2008 Form I-9 inspection of Abercrombie & Fitch's retail stores in Michigan. The audit uncovered numerous technology-related deficiencies in Abercrombie & Fitch's electronic I-9 verification system. The company was fully cooperative during the investigation and no instances of the knowing hire of unauthorized aliens were discovered. Since the initial inspection, Abercrombie & Fitch has taken measures to revise its immigration compliance program, and has begun to implement new procedures to prevent future violations of federal immigration laws.

"Employers are responsible not only for the people they hire but also for the internal systems they choose to utilize to manage their employment process and those systems must result in effective compliance," said Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of ICE HSI for Ohio and Michigan "We are pleased to see Abercrombie working diligently to complete the implementation of an effective compliance system; however, we know that there are other companies who are not doing so. This settlement should serve as a warning to other companies that may not yet take the employment verification process seriously or provide it the attention it warrants."

Employers are required to complete and retain a Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This form requires employers to review and record the individual's identity and employment eligibility document(s) and determine whether the document(s) reasonably appear to be genuine and related to the individual. Additionally, an employer must ensure that the employee provides certain information regarding his or her eligibility to work on the Form I-9.

In 2009, ICE implemented a new, comprehensive strategy to reduce the demand for illegal employment and protect employment opportunities for the nation's lawful workforce. Under this strategy, ICE is focusing its resources on the auditing and investigation of employers suspected of cultivating illegal workplaces by knowingly employing illegal workers. In the last year, ICE has leveled a record number of civil and criminal penalties against employers who violate immigration laws.

Germantown man who impersonated a federal immigration agent pleads guilty to fraud scheme

September 27, 2010

Germantown man who impersonated a federal immigration agent pleads guilty to fraud scheme

GREENBELT, Md. - Robert Fred Mejia, 29, of Germantown, Md., pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport money obtained by fraud across state lines, impersonating an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, transporting money obtained by fraud in connection with a scheme to purportedly provide immigration services and being a felon in possession of ammunition after an investigation led by ICE.

The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge of ICE's Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) William Winter; Special Agent in Charge Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General Peter P. Paradis, Sr.; Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger; and Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy.

According to the plea agreement, from December 2007 to June 2009, Mejia and a conspirator charged over 50 individuals for immigration services which they did not provide. On numerous occasions, Mejia and his co-conspirator caused such individuals in Washington D.C., and Virginia to bring $5,000 or more to their office in Gaithersburg, Md., to pay for the purported immigration services. Mejia and the co-conspirator completed immigration documents and had fingerprints taken for the individuals. However, no paperwork was ever filed on behalf of those clients.

As part of the fraud scheme, during meetings with the individuals seeking immigration assistance, Mejia dressed as an ICE employee, wearing: a shirt bearing the letters "ICE;" what appeared to be a gun in a holster and pepper spray; a bullet proof vest; and a hat bearing the letters "ICE." Mejia also displayed what appeared to be an ICE identification badge and drove a vehicle that resembled a police vehicle. At no time was Mejia employed by ICE or any other agency of the United States.

As a result of the fraud, between 50 and 250 victims from the District of Columbia and Virginia lost between $400,000 and $1 million.

In addition, Mejia admitted that he illegally possessed 50 rounds of 9 mm ammunition and 49 rounds of .44-40 ammunition, which were seized by law enforcement during a search of his home on June 26, 2009. Mejia was prohibited from possessing the ammunition due to a previous 2nd degree assault conviction in Montgomery County.

Mejia faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy; and 10 years in prison for interstate transportation of money obtained by fraud and for being a felon in possession of ammunition. Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for January 20, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. Mejia remains detained.

Mejia was previously convicted of related state charges and is scheduled to be sentenced on those charges in November.

ICE nabs Puerto Rican couple for bribery

September 27, 2010

ICE nabs Puerto Rican couple for bribery

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Juan De Miguel-Rodríguez, 45, and Maria Geraldine Espinal-Espinal, 41, were arrested on bribery charges Friday in San Juan and Trujillo Alto, respectively, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Office Professional Responsibility (OPR) special agents.

According to the criminal complaint filed Sept. 24, Juan De Miguel-Rodríguez and Maria Geraldine Espinal-Espinal offered and paid $10,000 to an ICE officer in order to reduce any possible fines or to terminate an employment eligibility verification form I-9 (Form I-9) audit conducted by ICE at Casa Mallorca Bakery, Casa Mallorca del Roble, and Casa Mallorkin Sports Bar, all businesses of De Miguel-Rodriguez. If convicted, De Miguel-Rodriguez and Espinal-Espinal face a sentence of up to 15 years in prison and fines of up to $30,000.

The worksite enforcement investigation targeting De Miguel-Rodriguez' businesses began in 2008 after ICE special agents received information that he was knowingly hiring illegal aliens at his Casa Mallorca Bakery business.

ICE HSI and OPR special agents were able to corroborate this information during the course of the investigation and on Nov. 9, 2009, De Miguel-Rodriguez and Espinal-Espinal paid $10,000 to an ICE undercover agent for the purpose of dismissing or significantly reducing the fine of the Form I-9 inspection.

On Nov. 6, 1986, the enactment of the Immigration Reform and Control Act required employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of their employees and created criminal and civil sanctions for employment related violations. The law requires employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all individuals hired in the United States and designates the employment eligibility verification Form I-9 as the means of documenting this verification. Employers are required by law to maintain for inspection original Forms I-9 for all current employees. In the case of former employees, retention of Forms I-9 are required for a period of at least three years from the date of hire or for one year after the employee is no longer employed, whichever is longer.

The administrative inspection process is initiated by the service of a Notice of Inspection (NOI) upon an employer compelling the production of Forms I-9. When technical or procedural violations are found, an employer is given ten business days to make corrections. An employer may receive a monetary fine for all substantive and uncorrected technical violations. Employers determined to have knowingly hired or continued to employ unauthorized workers will be required to cease the unlawful activity, may be fined, and in certain situations may be prosecuted criminally. Additionally, an employer found to have knowingly hired or continued to employ unauthorized workers may be subject to debarment by ICE, meaning that the employer will be prevented from participating in future federal contracts and from receiving other government benefits. Monetary penalties for knowingly hiring and continuing to employ violations range from $375 to $16,000 per violation, with repeat offenders receiving penalties at the higher end.

3 Sacramento attorneys receive lengthy sentences in asylum fraud scheme investigated by ICE

3 Sacramento attorneys receive lengthy sentences in asylum fraud scheme investigated by ICE HSI

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Three attorneys for a northern California law firm and their contract interpreter were sentenced to lengthy prison terms Friday following their conviction on charges stemming from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) that revealed they orchestrated a scheme to file hundreds of false asylum claims.

Jagprit Singh Sekhon, 39, of Westminster, Calif., formerly of Sacramento, was sentenced to 108 months in prison. His brother and former partner in the Sekhon & Sekhon law firm, Jagdip Singh Sekhon, 42, of Salida, Calif., was sentenced to 60 months in prison. Their former law firm associate, Manjit Kaur Rai, 33, of Discovery Bay, Calif., was sentenced to 30 months in prison. The sentencing hearing for interpreter Iosif Caza, 43, of Sacramento has not yet concluded. Interpreter Luciana Harmath, 29, of Glendale, Ariz., formerly of Sacramento, was sentenced to four months in prison last month.

Judge Damrell ordered Jagdip Sekhon and Jagprit Sekhon immediately remanded into custody to begin serving their sentences. Rai was given three weeks to surrender to the designated prison.

The defendants were convicted last year of orchestrating a long-running scheme to file hundreds of false asylum claims. In sentencing Jagdip Sekhon, Judge Damrell said that while there were flaws in the asylum system that "doesn't give license to lawyers to take advantage of it." One of the primary purposes of the sentences, the judge said was "to deter future criminal conduct by lawyers who take advantage of this flawed system."

"As these sentences make clear, immigration benefit fraud is a serious crime," said Daniel Lane, assistant special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Sacramento. "Benefit fraud schemes like this not only undermine our nation's legal immigration system, they also pose a potential security threat. Homeland Security Investigations will move aggressively to identify and investigate individuals who exploit and corrupt our immigration system solely to enrich themselves."

"Through the granting of asylum, this nation offers its protection to victims of ethnic, religious, and political persecution from across the world," said U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner. "These defendants made a living out of cynically abusing and subverting the asylum process. That three of these defendants were licensed attorneys, officers of the court who are supposed to uphold the integrity of the process, is particularly offensive."

In addition to the prison sentences, the two Sekhons were also ordered to pay financial penalties. Jagprit Sekhon entered into stipulated money forfeiture judgments totaling $170,000. Following an extensive forfeiture trial, Judge Damrell ordered Jagdip Sekhon to forfeit $690,590 in ill-gotten gains. Beyond that, last year the California State Bar entered interim suspensions against the Sekhon brothers and Rai. In June, Jagdip Sekhon resolved his State Bar charges and agreed to a two-year suspension, which was stayed with an actual nine-month suspension from the practice of law. As part of his actual suspension, Jagdip Sekhon will be required to meet certain conditions before he may resume the practice of law.

The Sekhon brothers were partners in the law firm of Sekhon & Sekhon, which had offices in Sacramento and San Francisco and specialized in immigration cases.

According to evidence presented at the trial, beginning in the late 1990s and continuing through 2004, the defendants filed hundreds of asylum applications, primarily on behalf of Indian and Romanian nationals. In order to qualify for asylum in the United States, an applicant must demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution in his or her home country. Evidence at the trial showed the defendants filed numerous asylum applications containing fictitious stories of persecution, including false accounts of arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, and rape. Some of the accounts were reused in multiple asylum claims.

The applications were often supported by counterfeit or fraudulent doctor's letters, medical certificates and affidavits. The testimony also showed that many of Sekhon & Sekhon's Romanian clients traveled to Sacramento from other states, such as Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Michigan.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and ICE HSI are currently reviewing hundreds of the asylum cases filed by Sekhon & Sekhon to determine if they will be reopened.

For the most up-to-date ICE information, sign up for ICE e-mail alerts. You may also visit us on Twitter and YouTube.

-- ICE --

Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Instructions

Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Instructions

DV Lottery 2012 Online Registration

The online registration for DV-2012 DV Lottery begins noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT -4), Tuesday, October 5, 2010, and ends noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT -4), Wednesday, November 3, 2010. All entries must be submitted electronically during the registration period, when applicants may access the Electronic DV Entry Form DS-5501 at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov. Paper entries will not be accepted.

Applicants are strongly encouraged not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website delays. No entries will be accepted after noon, EST, on November 3, 2010.

Diversity Visa Lottery Instructions

Review the DV-2012 Instructions below for detailed information.

•The English version of the DV-2012 Lottery Instructions, updated 9/22/10, is available in PDF format for your convenience and required use.
The English language version of the DV-2012 Lottery Instructions is the only official version. Some unofficial translations in additional languages will be published and will be added to this page as they become available. Check this webpage at a later time for additional available translations.

Translations (All translations are in .pdf format)

Armenian Indonesian

Note: If you do not see instructions in your native language, please see the U.S. Embassy website to find out whether your country may have additional Diversity Visa information.

Diversity Visa Program Information

See the Diversity Visa Program webpage for information about:

•DV 2011 Status Check - Entrants who previously completed online DV 2011 entry through the official website can check the status of their entry at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov
•Results for DV-2011 and DV-2010 Lotteries: DV-2011 and DV-2010 lottery winners were already notified by mail and winners are provided further instructions. Those selected in the random drawing are NOT notified by email. Those individuals NOT selected will NOT receive any notification. See DV Lottery Results to learn more.

Togolese woman sentenced to 27 years in prison for forced labor of young West African women

September 20, 2010

Togolese woman sentenced to 27 years in prison for forced labor of young West African women

Defendant also ordered to pay victims over $3.9 million in missed wages

NEWARK, N.J. - The ringleader of a human trafficking operation in which dozens of women and girls were brought to the United States and forced to work without pay at hair braiding salons in Newark and East Orange, N.J., was sentenced today to 324 months in prison after an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Akouavi Kpade Afolabi, 55, was convicted on Oct. 14, 2009, of all 22 counts of the indictment which charged her with conspiring with others - including her ex-husband, Lassissi Afolabi, and her son, Dereck Hounakey - to commit forced labor; traffic with respect to forced labor; hold visas and identification; commit visa fraud; and smuggle and harbor illegal aliens.

"ICE aggressively targets criminals who exploit or victimize vulnerable individuals who are looking for a better life in the United States," said Peter T. Edge, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Newark. "We are committed to identifying, dismantling and disrupting the international criminal organizations that are involved in any form of involuntary servitude."

"Afolabi enriched herself through the forced labor of women and girls, some as young as 10 years old, preying on their desire for a better life and violating their most basic civil rights," said U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Paul J. Fishman. "This type of behavior is intolerable in a civilized society and, today, Afolabi faces justice in the loss of her own freedom. Going forward, we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and other agencies in our communities to uncover and root out this modern form of slavery."

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of ICE HSI in Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Edge, as well as agents with the U.S. Department of Labor, Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Department of State for the investigation leading to today's sentence.

According to the evidence at trial:

From October 2002 through September 2007, Akouavi Kpade Afolabi engaged in a conspiracy to obtain the forced labor of a number of women and girls she had brought over from Togo with fraudulent visas. Akouavi Kpade Afolabi and another co-conspirator, Geoffry Kouevi, would seek out individuals with a type of visa which would allow the holders to bring spouses or children with them into the country. She would then solicit those individuals to falsely claim non-relatives as family members.

Kouevi taught the recruits to study facts about their fake husbands and fathers in order to pass their interviews at the U.S. Embassy, prepared all of the paperwork necessary for them to obtain their visas, and obtained fraudulent passports for them. Over the course of the conspiracy, Kouevi helped to fraudulently obtain more than 25 visas.

Once the young women and girls entered the United States, Akouavi Kpade Afolabi and her ex-husband required their victims to work at hair braiding salons for up to 14 hours per day, six or seven days a week. The victims were also required to turn over all of their earnings, including their tips, to the defendants. The defendants did not allow the girls and women to keep their passports or identification; to speak with their families outside of the defendants' presence; or to make any outside friends. They were rarely permitted to leave their respective residences, all of which were controlled by the defendants, other than to work. When a victim broke a rule she was punished, often physically, by one of the Afolabis.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Linares sentenced Akouavi Kpade Afolabi to three years supervised release and ordered her to pay restitution in the amount of $3,949,140.80. The restitution amount includes the wages the victims should have been paid during their servitude, calculated under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which provides for payment of minimum wage and overtime, as well as compensatory damages for the delay in receiving wages.

Lassissi Afolabi, 47, was sentenced to 292 months in prison on July 12, 2010, for conspiring to commit forced labor; traffic with respect to forced labor; hold visas and identification; commit forced labor with aggravated sexual abuse; and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. Hounakey, 33, was sentenced to 55 months in prison on June 28, 2010, for conspiring with the others to commit forced labor, traffic with respect to forced labor, and hold visas and identification. Geoffry Kouevi, 31, who was convicted after a jury trial last July of conspiring with Kpade Afolabi to commit visa fraud, was sentenced to 26 month in prison on Aug. 18, 2010.

-- ICE --

Florida Couple Pleads Guilty to Forced Labor Conspiracy of 39 Filipino Guest Workers

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, September 17, 2010
Florida Couple Pleads Guilty to Forced Labor Conspiracy of 39 Filipino Guest Workers

WASHINGTON - Sophia Manuel, 41, and Alfonso Baldonado Jr., 45, owners of Quality Staffing Services Corporation, a labor contracting service, pleaded guilty to conspiring to hold 39 Filipino nationals in compelled service in country clubs and hotels in Southeast Florida. Manuel also pleaded guilty to making false statements in an application she filed with the U.S. Department of Labor to obtain foreign labor certifications and visas under the federal H2B guest worker program.

According to documents presented in court, the defendants conspired to obtain a cheap, compliant and readily available labor pool, by making false promises to entice the victims to incur debts. The defendants then compelled the victims’ labor and services through threats to have the workers arrested and deported, knowing the workers faced serious economic harm and possible incarceration for nonpayment of debts in the Philippines. After the victims arrived at the defendants’ residence in Boca Raton, Fla., the defendants confiscated their passports; housed them in overcrowded, substandard conditions without adequate food or drinking water; put them to work at area country clubs and hotels for little or no pay; required them to remain in the defendants’ service, unpaid when there was insufficient work; ordered them not to leave the premises without permission and an escort; and threatened to have the workers arrested and deported for complaining about these terms and conditions.

“These defendants victimized vulnerable individuals for profit,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Forced labor robs victims of their freedom and their dignity, and it will not be tolerated in this country.”

“Each day, people leave behind their families and homelands in search of freedom and a better life in the United States. The individuals in this case were no different,” said Wifredo Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “They came here seeking a better life, but found their dream of freedom and a better life transformed into a real-life nightmare of servitude and fear. With today's guilty pleas, we come one step closer to punishing the defendants for their crimes.”

This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations; the U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations; FBI; the U.S. Department of State - Bureau of Diplomatic Security; the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; and the Florida Office of the Attorney General. This case is being prosecuted by trial attorney Susan French of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaniek Maynard.

Important Service Transition Announcement for All Visa Applicants in Canada

Important Service Transition Announcement for All Visa Applicants in Canada

"The US Mission in Canada is transitioning to a new appointment service for applicants applying for a visa to come to the United States. As of September 1, 2010, all services including calling for information and scheduling an appointment will be provided for no additional cost, with no requirement that applicants pay phone charges or PIN numbers to access such services. Starting September 1, 2010, applicants will visit CSC Visa Information Services to either obtain information online or via telephone on how to start their application for a U.S. visa at a consular section in Canada." U.S. Embassy, Canada.