They can deport this guy sure, but he'll be back with a new id and new SS# and new line of work if human sumggling isn't working out for him will drug smuggling work out better.By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times
Article Launched:10/08/2006 12:00:00 AM MDT
An undocumented immigrant who turned to harboring migrants to pay his debt to his own smuggler was sentenced last month to five years of probation and ordered deported, court documents showed and his lawyer, Carlos Spector, said.
Gilberto Vasquez Martinez, 26, of Mexico, pleaded guilty in August to harboring aliens.
On April 25, Vasquez was seen by Border Patrol agents buying large quantities of fried chicken at Church's Chicken on Dyer Street, two dozen tortillas and sodas. Agents followed him to a safe house on Portello Street, where they pushed open the front door and found seven undocumented immigrants sitting on the floor, eating chicken.
In court documents, Vasquez said he made the decision to emigrate to the United States after his father died and his family needed money. He had been smuggled about 15 days before his arrest by a man he knew only as "El Vato." The smuggler told him he could work off his balance by working for him, Vasquez said.
He was given a Ford Explorer and money every three days to feed the other migrants, documents showed.
"This was a heartbreaking case," Spector said. "All this guy did was buy some chicken."
Border Patrol agents reported that tinfoil and bedsheets covered the windows of the safe house to block the view of the interior and that they found cellular phones, bolt cutters and a ledger inside.
2006-10-08
09:15:26
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