Restaurant owner faces immigration charges
Accusations include hiring, tipping off illegal workers

By Monica LaBelle
mlabelle@argusleader.com
Published: March 24, 2007


A Sioux Falls restaurant owner not only hired illegal immigrants, but helped them find housing, paid them in cash and gave them a word of warning after raids of Midwest meatpacking plants, according to court documents filed this week.

A criminal complaint was filed this week in district court against Julio Espino, owner of the Inca Mexican restaurant, and Oscar Cadena, a restaurant manager.

They are accused of harboring illegal aliens and encouraging them to remain in the U.S.

The claims stem from a March raid during which seven alleged illegal immigrants were arrested - many of whom worked at Inca on 41st Street in Sioux Falls, according to federal authorities.

Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement searched Inca on March 7. They also searched nearby apartment units.

The raid came months after a December raid when more than 1,200 people were arrested at the Swift & Co. meat processing plant in Worthington, Minn.

A local immigration lawyer said such arrests are not uncommon - people just don't notice unless it's a big raid.

"We've had immigration laws on the books, and we have been enforcing them but people have not been looking at these cases unless it's a big sensational case," said Henry Evans, a lawyer who is representing one of the employees who was arrested.

On Thursday afternoon at his restaurant, Espino said he could not comment on the case and deferred to his lawyer, Russ Janklow.

"I wasn't around when all this happened," Espino said.

Janklow did not return phone messages.

After agents searched Inca and the apartment unit, they arrested Mario Alberto Paredes De La Torre, Juan Garcia-Nunez, Isaste Juarez-Castillo, Luis Alberto Gonzalez-Sanchez, Ana Christina Villasenor-Campos, Michael Munoz Alanis and Alberto Luis Villasenor-Campos.

Espino reportedly paid their wages in cash and housed them at apartment buildings at 3313 S. Jefferson Ave. and 3309 S. Elmwood Ave., according to court documents.

The records also say Espino told workers to be careful on the streets after the immigration operation at Swift. He allegedly paid rent for one of the apartments they were staying in as well.

During an investigator's interview with one of the employees, Juarez-Castillo, said "he did not punch a timecard because only the workers with legal papers used timecards," according to the affidavit, which was written by Special Agent Craig Scherer of the Department of Homeland Security.

"Juarez stated he was paid in cash by Espino, and that only the workers with legal papers were paid by check.

"Juarez further stated that after the immigration operation at Swift in Worthington, Espino told the workers to be careful on the streets," the affidavit states.

The incident highlights the difficulties people coming to this country face, said immigrants attending an English language class at Our Lady of Guadalupe church on Sioux Falls' east side.

"They work for money, they work in the right place and do nothing wrong," said Gonzalo Salazar, who was born in Mexico.

Reach reporter Monica LaBelle at 977-3909.


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