A Guatemalan national has pleaded guilty to one count of labor trafficking after 33 illegal aliens were allegedly found living in her basement last year.
Concepcion Malinek, a 50-year-old Guatemala-U.S. dual citizen, pleaded guilty to helping ten illegal aliens from Guatemala make their way into the country between 2009 to 2019. In the guilty plea, Malinek admits she helped the illegal aliens get jobs, illegally, and threatened to report them to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency if they did not hand over their wages to her.
In March 2019, Malinek’s home was raided by federal investigators who allegedly discovered 33 illegal aliens — 19 adults and 14 children — from Guatemala living in her basement in Cicero, Illinois. The state is considered a sanctuary state due to its statewide law that shields illegal aliens from arrest and deportation.
Investigators allege that Malinek likely received at least $120,000 in cash payments from the illegal aliens, none of which she reported in tax filings.
The illegal aliens, investigators said, were forced to live in disturbing conditions, with mold and sewage, and were denied bathroom access if they fell behind on payments. One of the illegal aliens was as young as 18 months.
Malinek’s neighbors said they would often see her loading a number of adults into a van in the morning. Those adults would not return until the evening. Investigators had suspected that Malinek’s husband, who worked for TSA, was aware of the labor trafficking situation, though he has not been charged.
Malinek is set to be sentenced in October, facing 20 years in federal prison.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
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