Bakery owners charged after ICE arrests suspected illegal immigrant workers

Bakery owners in Texas are currently facing serious felony charges after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) recently conducted a raid on their store. The raid resulted in the arrest of eight suspected illegal immigrants who were working at the bakery.

The owners of Amy’s Bakery, Leonardo Baez and Nora Alicia Avila-Guel, who are lawful permanent residents, admitted to being aware that their employees were in the U.S. illegally. Two of the suspected illegal immigrants also confirmed to HSI that the owners were fully aware of their immigration status and were knowingly harboring them.

As a result of these actions, Baez and Avila-Guel are now facing charges under 8 USC 1324, a law that allows for the prosecution of individuals who are involved in hiding, harboring, concealing, or aiding and abetting illegal immigrants. This law has been emphasized by former ICE Director Tom Homan as a tool to pursue those who knowingly employ undocumented workers.

The federal complaint stated, “The apprehension of the aliens was the result of a worksite enforcement action. Post event, the facts of the event were presented to the duty AUSA, who agreed there was sufficient cause for a complaint for harboring and accepted prosecution.”

In the past, prosecutions of business owners for hiring illegal immigrants were rare, but President Donald Trump’s administration has taken a much harsher stance on illegal immigration. Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office declaring a state of emergency at the southern border, fulfilling a promise he made during his campaign.

As part of this crackdown on immigration, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. CQ Brown recently visited the U.S.-Mexico border to assess the progress of fortifying the border wall. Additionally, the Trump administration has designated eight gangs and cartels, including Tren de Aragua and MS-13, as foreign terrorist organizations, expanding the government’s authority to combat criminal groups operating within the country.

These recent developments highlight the administration’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement and the consequences that business owners may face for hiring undocumented workers. The owners of Amy’s Bakery are now at the center of a legal battle that underscores the current administration’s commitment to cracking down on illegal immigration.