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Migrant farm workers win! Bladimir Moreno, the owner of Los Villatoros Harvesting LLC, a farm labor contractor that forced Mexican H-2A farm workers to work in horrible conditions, was stopped and brought to justice. After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Moreno was found guilty of conspiracy to violate federal laws that prohibit forced labor and organized crime. He was sentenced to nearly ten years in prison and ordered to pay the workers he harmed over $175,000 (just over 3,334,000 Mexican pesos). 

Between 2015 and 2017, Los Villatoros Harvesting LLC hired workers from Mexico to work in the United States temporarily to do seasonal agricultural work with H-2A visas. Moreno and others in the company mistreated the workers in many ways. Moreno lied to the workers about the job so that the workers would agree to work for the company. The company charged the workers illegal recruitment fees to come to the United States on the H-2A visa, which left the workers in debt. Once the workers were in the United States, Moreno and the company forced the workers to work long hours of very physical agricultural labor, six to seven days a week, for very low pay. They also made the workers live in crowded and unsanitary housing. Moreno forced them to work by confiscating their passports; charging them money so they were indebted to the company; keeping the workers in the United States after their visas had expired; and threatening them with deportation and calling the police. 

Moreno tried to hide his mistreatment of the workers by providing the federal government with false documentation of the workers’ pay and hours. And Moreno had previously lied to the federal government when he requested the workers’ visas in the first place. The U.S. Department of Justice learned about Moreno’s abuse of the workers and was able to stop him and Los Villatoros Harvesting LLC from continuing to mistreat them.

U.S. law forbids companies from abusing workers, like Moreno did, including H-2A, H-2B, and undocumented workers. Workers have the power to hold their employers accountable. Workers can speak to the government when their employer is mistreating them, threatening them, or forcing them to work. 

No matter what your immigration status is, you have rights at work in the United States. If you believe you are suffering mistreatment in your job in the United States, call Centro de los Derechos del Migrante (CDM). We can help you learn about your rights at work in the United States, including options to protect yourself if you decide to speak out about abuse. Depending on your situation, you might be able to apply for immigration relief protections in order to stay temporarily in the U.S. to pursue a complaint against your employer.

Keep in mind that this blog is not legal advice. For more information, call CDM at 800-590-1773 (from Mexico) or 1-855-234-9699 (from the U.S.), 9a.m. to 5p.m. MX, Monday through Friday. Contratados.org (enlace en Español); Contratados.org (link in English)

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