The plight of smuggled and extorted aliens made national headlines this past month when the plight of dozens of deaf-mute Mexicans in New York City was discovered. The 58 Mexicans are said to have been living in squalid conditions in Queens and were forced to sell trinkets on the streets and subways of New York. They were forced to work seven days a week, were physically abused if they did not earn enough money and forced to sleep on the floor. Eight persons were arrested and charged with conspiracy to transport and conceal illegal aliens. According to officials, the ringleaders of the smuggling ring recruited the aliens from homes and schools for the deaf and mute in Mexico.
In the ensuing week, similar smuggling rings were reported in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago and North Carolina. INS Commissioner Doris Meissner announced that the INS was establishing an “anti-exploitation task force” to investigate reports on alien smuggling and exploitation. According to Meissner, “It is too early to determine what may come of these reports, but the INS will not tolerate the type of inhumane treatment that this case has shown. Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo also promised to punish persons engaging in such “atrocities.”
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