🧥🛑 Businessman Arrested in South Texas for Hiring Undocumented Workers at Used Clothing Shops
🏭🚔 Federal Agents Raid El Cajon Business Over Allegations of Hiring Undocumented Workers 🇲🇽🔥 Two Years After Deadly Migrant Fire in Ciudad Juárez, Families Still Waiting for Justice
🧥🛑 Businessman Arrested in South Texas for Hiring Undocumented Workers at Used Clothing Shops
Elizabeth Zavala, San Antonio Express-News.- Federal authorities have arrested Rolando Martinez, 42, of McAllen, Texas, on charges of employing and harboring undocumented immigrants at his used clothing business, America’s Best Clothing. His arrest is part of a broader federal investigation into several “ropa usada” operations in Hidalgo suspected of smuggling, money laundering, and illegal employment practices. Agents raided multiple locations on March 19, including Martinez’s business and properties tied to the Perez family, who were also arrested. During the raid, undocumented workers told officials that Martinez knowingly hired them and even provided housing. Martinez surrendered to federal authorities on Wednesday. Court documents allege the businesses smuggled clothing to Mexico and laundered drug money through the used clothing trade. The case highlights how informal border economies can be exploited through labor and financial crimes.
🏭🚔 Federal Agents Raid El Cajon Business Over Allegations of Hiring Undocumented Workers
Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune.- Homeland Security Investigations agents raided San Diego Powder & Protective Coatings in El Cajon on Thursday, accusing the family-owned business of knowingly employing undocumented immigrants. The metal coatings company, which contracts with the U.S. military, is under investigation for hiring workers using fraudulent documents and ignoring federal verification requirements. The search warrant affidavit, unsealed in federal court, alleges the company employed multiple undocumented workers, including individuals previously deported and indicted in drug trafficking cases. Undercover agents were allegedly hired despite presenting fake documents, and a cooperating source recorded the company’s general manager acknowledging the use of fraudulent paperwork. Though the company’s officials haven’t commented, the raid is part of a growing number of immigration enforcement actions under the Trump administration, which has pledged a renewed crackdown on illegal employment. It remains unclear how many individuals were detained during the operation.
🇲🇽🔥 Two Years After Deadly Migrant Fire in Ciudad Juárez, Families Still Waiting for Justice
Rocío Gallegos, La Verdad Juárez.- On the second anniversary of the fire that killed 40 migrants inside a locked detention cell at Mexico’s National Immigration Institute (INM) facility in Ciudad Juárez, victims’ families and survivors denounce ongoing impunity. Despite video evidence showing authorities abandoning the burning cell, none of the 11 accused—including eight INM officials—have stood trial. Three remain jailed, three were released on bond, one is a fugitive, and INM Commissioner Francisco Garduño secured an 18-month procedural freeze by agreeing to take symbolic steps, like issuing a public apology—yet he remains in office and has yet to fulfill that promise.
Survivors like Rubbelsy Pérez, who was hospitalized for severe burns and now lives in Tennessee, demand answers: “Why so much delay in justice?” Families of victims say the government has failed not just in prosecuting those responsible but in acknowledging all who suffered—especially the women who survived and now live with trauma.
Ana Evangelista, mother of Salvadoran victim Roberto Henriquez Evangelista, says she still awaits justice from California: “If they evade the law, God will take care of them.”
Lawyers and advocates accuse Mexico’s justice system of being unprepared to address grave human rights abuses and decry the federal court’s inaction on key amparos filed since 2023. As detention policies continue unchanged, the former Juárez facility remains closed, but migrants are now being transported to other centers.
Meanwhile, the deadline for pretrial detention is set to expire for six of the accused—including private security guards and two Venezuelan detainees—raising fears they too may be released before trial begins.
“We just want everyone involved to face trial and for justice to be done,” says Marcos Zavala Cruz, lawyer for the survivors and families of the deceased.