CHICAGO — A Cicero woman who helped numerous undocumented immigrants from Guatemala illegally enter the United States pleaded guilty to a federal labor trafficking charge.
Concepcion Malinek, 50, pleaded guilty to one count of labor trafficking. The charge is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang set sentencing for Oct. 20, 2020, at 3:00 p.m.
Malinek admitted in a plea declaration that she assisted ten undocumented Guatemalan immigrants with illegally entering the U.S. from 2009 to 2019. Once in the country, Malinek arranged for the immigrants to reside in her home in Cicero while they worked in nearby jobs. Malinek then threatened to contact U.S. immigration authorities if the immigrants wouldn’t pay her a substantial portion of their earnings.
USA TODAY reported: Federal officials also discovered a ledger where Malinek kept track of the amount her victims owed. The ledger included the line “you are free to leave or stay after the debt has been paid,” according to the complaint.
One victim told federal authorities that she was kept at the house with her husband and two children and that Malinek said she would lose her children if she told anyone what was happening inside the home, according to the complaint.
The victim said Malinek verbally abused them and set up a list of “rules” on the back of the door leading out of the basement, according to the complaint. One of the rules stated that the basement had to be clean before everyone left for work or the victims would have to pay a fine. Another rule stipulated that the victims would be assigned to cleaning the house in separate shifts.
