Springfield restaurant owner pleads guilty to hiring undocumented employees
Castro-Manzanarez admitted to transporting and harboring illegal immigrants, as well as providing them with employment using fraudulent identification documents.
Rina Edge, an immigration attorney in Springfield, told Ozarks First situations like these can sometimes be considered 'labor trafficking.'
'People are recruited in their home countries for a job in the United States, and they do it under the auspices that, 'hey, we're going to get you a visa and everything is going to be legit,'' said Edge. 'Then they have them pay a large fee in order to get to the United States. Then once they do that and they get here, then they use that fee or a debt to require them to work in order to pay it back.'
On the other hand, the Southern Missouri Immigration Alliance (SMIA) told Ozarks First the term 'labor trafficking' is a wide-cast net.
'It's very important to not complete the actions of one person's with an entire community,' said SMIA. 'There are many cases where people are just trying to help out their fellow human beings and a system that is incredibly unjust.'
SMIA told Ozarks First it's important to center the workers humanity in situations like these. An individual may find themselves in this situation due to coercion, misinformation and exploitation, or out of necessity.
'In cases like this, where perhaps maybe an employer is accused of hiring or harboring undocumented workers, we must recognize that the workers are often navigating survival and not criminal intent,' said SMIA.
SMIA also stressed what they referred to as the structural realities in circumstances like these.
'There is a lack of a legal pathway,' said SMIA. 'There can be labor exploitation in an economy that depends on undocumented labor while criminalizing it.'
Ozarks First spoke with the manager at El Poblano, who confirmed the restaurant will remain open for the foreseeable future.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Illegal migrant — not deported despite multiple DUI and domestic violence raps — allegedly kills mom, 11-yr-old daughter in horrific wrong-way crash
An illegal immigrant from Mexico was allegedly drunk behind the wheel of a speeding SUV that crossed into incoming traffic and crashed head-on into a compact car, killing an innocent woman and her bright-eyed 11-year-old daughter, New Jersey authorities said. Raul Luna-Perez, 43, has been living in Red Bank, N.J., since early 2023, federal sources told The Post. When and where he allegedly snuck into the U.S. is not known. The suspect has been roaming free despite two DUI arrests in March and April, and a domestic violence arrest in 2023, according to records. 8 Maria Pleitez and Dayanara Cortes were killed in a head-on crash July 26. 8 Photos from the scene show the mangled front-end of Pleitez's car. Y Smith/TLS 'Governor Murphy and his sanctuary policies released this serial criminal into New Jersey communities,' Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told the Post Friday. 'Now, this innocent family is shattered by their failed leadership. 'President Trump and Secretary Noem will continue to do everything in their power to remove these criminal illegal aliens before they destroy more lives.' Luna-Perez's Dodge Durango slammed into Maria Pleitez's Nissan Sentra in the horrific July 26 wreck in Lakewood, NJ, according to local prosecutors. The 42-year-old mother was killed instantly. Her youngest daughter, Dayanara Cortes, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, perished soon after arriving at the hospital. A second, unidentified 11-year-old girl riding in the back seat at the time of the 11:20 p.m. collision, was also injured and rushed to a local hospital in critical condition. She has since been upgraded to stable. Luna-Perez walked away with minor injuries. His two passengers sustained minor injuries, for which they were treated and released. 8 Raul Luna-Perez is a Mexican national. Ocean County Corrections 8 The crash killed Pleitez instantly, while Dayanara died moments after arriving at the hospital. Y Smith/TLS Because he was showing symptoms of intoxication at the crash scene at Cross Street and Hearthstone Drive, blood was drawn from Luna-Perez at the hospital, authorities said. He was later charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and assault by auto. Charges could be added once prosecutors receive the blood test results. In a sad irony, the mother he allegedly killed immigrated from El Salvador years ago. It is unclear if her children were born in the U.S. A GoFundMe campaign is raising money to pay for the bodies to be transported to El Salvador for burial. 'My aunt was a wonderful woman who worked hard everyday to take of care her 2 daughters,' her niece, Maria Celina Aguilar, wrote on the GoFundMe page, which has raised close to $30,000. The mother and daughter are survived by Dayanara's 16-year-old sister, the niece said. The suspect remains in custody at the Ocean County Jail in Toms River on an active ICE immigration detainer, according to online jail records. 8 Dayanara only recently celebrated her 11th birthday. 8 A photo shows police tape encircling Luna-Perez's crumpled SUV. Y Smith/TLS Luna-Perez has been a scofflaw for years, records show. Why he remained in the U.S. after being charged with crimes multiple times is a mystery. New Jersey prosecutors would not even discuss his immigration status, citing state disclosure laws He was arrested in 2008 by Red Bank cops for disorderly conduct. He was charged with assault on Jan. 2, 2023, following a violent incident in the same shore town. That same month, Luna-Perez was busted — again in Red Bank — for leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage, and failure to report an accident. He was later ordered to pay a $970 fine. His rap sheet includes an arrest in June 2023 for domestic violence. The details surrounding that incident were unavailable. Shockingly, Luna-Perez was twice collared for DUI within a month this year, yet continued to walk — and drive — free. He was busted March 20 after a traffic stop on River Street in Red Bank. On April 17, he was stopped by police and again charged for DUI. Prosecutors said Luna-Perez does not yet have a lawyer. 8 The mother and daughter will be buried in El Salvador. 8 Luna-Perez seemed drunk at the crash scene, authorities said. Y Smith/TLS While Red Bank has never declared itself a 'sanctuary city,' officials there adopted a 2017 resolution stating its support for migrants. Under the direction of Gov. Phil Murphy, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal issued a directive in 2018, turning the Garden State into a sanctuary state. In recent years, Republican lawmakers have implored Murphy to 'reevaluate' the state's position on the classification. Since 2018, New Jersey has had a statewide Immigrant Trust Directive, with new mandates designed to foster cooperation and 'strengthen trust between law enforcement officers and immigrant communities.' One of those bars police from even questioning suspects about their immigration status.
Los Angeles Times
21 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Alleged leader of Mexican kidnapping ring released after nearly 20 years in prison
MEXICO CITY — The alleged leader of an infamous Mexican kidnapping ring walked out of a maximum security prison after nearly 20 years Friday, hours after a judge said there wasn't sufficient evidence to support the charges holding him. Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez on Friday rattled off a list of appeals, injunctions and complaints filed over the years of Israel Vallarta's imprisonment in a case that never arrived at a verdict. Vallarta had been charged with organized crime and kidnapping, but a judge tossed those out Thursday. The attorney general's office did not immediately respond as to whether it would appeal. Vallarta was arrested in 2005, along with his girlfriend French citizen Florence Cassez. Cassez was eventually convicted and sentenced to 60 years on charges of aiding a kidnapping ring, in a case that soured relations between Paris and Mexico City. She acknowledged living with Vallarta at a ranch where kidnap victims were being held, but professed her innocence, saying she was unaware of their presence. One victim identified her as a kidnapper, but by voice only rather than by sight. A day after Cassez was arrested, police had forced her to take part in a staged raid on the ranch purportedly to rescue hostages and arrest suspects. It was covered by the media and broadcast on television. In January 2013 the Supreme Court of Mexico overturned Cassez's conviction due to procedural and rights violations. She was released and became a cause celebre in France.
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Alleged leader of Mexican kidnapping ring released after nearly 20 years in prison
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The alleged leader of an infamous Mexican kidnapping ring walked out of a maximum security prison after nearly 20 years Friday, hours after a judge said there wasn't sufficient evidence to support the charges holding him. Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez on Friday rattled off a list of appeals, injunctions and complaints filed over the years of Israel Vallarta's imprisonment in a case that never arrived at a verdict. The Attorney General's Office did not immediately respond as to whether it would appeal. Vallarta was arrested in 2005, along with his girlfriend French citizen Florence Cassez. Cassez was eventually convicted and sentenced to 60 years on charges of aiding a kidnapping ring, in a case that soured relations between Paris and Mexico City. She acknowledged living with Vallarta at a ranch where kidnap victims were being held, but professed her innocence, saying she was unaware of their presence. One victim identified her as a kidnapper, but by voice only rather than by sight. A day after Cassez was arrested, police had forced her to take part in a staged raid on the ranch purportedly to rescue hostages and arrest suspects. It was covered by the media and broadcast on television. In January 2013 the Supreme Court overturned Cassez's conviction due to procedural and rights violations. She was released and became a cause celebre in France.
