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Farm contractors plead guilty in slavery case Western New York migrant workers were held against their will Feburary 17, 2005 Images of slavery and forced labor in the United States are most often associated with Africans and a practice that ended a century and a half ago. New Yorkers were shocked to learn slavery was very much a reality in the 21st century for a dozen farm laborers from Mexico. The town of Albion (population just over 7,000) in Orleans County grabbed national headlines in June 2002 when six migrant farm workers narrowly escaped the camps where they were being held in virtual slavery. Now, in federal plea agreements, a family of farm labor contractors have pleaded guilty to charges of forced labor and harboring illegal aliens. Maria Garcia, her husband, Jose, and two sons, Jose and Elias have been indicted. Two other contractors are still fugitives, said Dan Werner, an attorney with the Workers Rights Law Center . The farm workers, Werner said, "are thrilled with the results." As victims of forced labor, the men are eligible to receive immigration protection under the federal anti-trafficking law passed in 2000. "Our clients were obviously undocumented when they were held in forced labor," the lawyer said. "They were eligible to reapply for a T visa, a special visa for victims of trafficking who are cooperating with a criminal prosecution." Court documents show the workers were transported from Arizona and Mexico for fees ranging from $1,000 to $1,800. Upon arriving in New York , the workers were told they owed the contractors for food, housing, electricity and transportation to and from the fields daily. Though growers paid the contractors $5.15 per hour, the workers indebted to the contractors received little to no pay. Sentencing is scheduled for April. A class-action lawsuit against the contractors and growers is pending. "The growers really benefitted from the situation and should bear some financial responsibility for what happened," Werner said. - Clarisse Butler |
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