ICE Deports Six Migrants After Raiding Texas Bakery, Charges Owners with 'Harboring Aliens': 'I Knew This Would Happen One Day'

Federal immigration authorities have deported six undocumented workers and charged the owners of a Texas bakery with "harboring aliens" after a raid on their business, as U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen L. Betancourt put it. The owners, Leonardo Baez and Nora Alicia Avila-Guel, are accused of knowingly employing and housing workers without legal authorization to work in the United States.

According to a preliminary hearing held on Friday it was revealed that agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted a worksite enforcement action at Abby's Bakery in Los Fresnos on February 12, following a tip received in December.

As a result, eight workers were apprehended, six of whom had temporary visas that did not grant them permission to work. Immigration officials later removed them to Mexico.

Authorities allege that Baez and Avila-Guel not only employed undocumented workers but also provided them with housing in an apartment adjacent to the bakery, according to The Texas Tribune. During questioning, Baez and Avila-Guel allegedly admitted they were aware their employees lacked work authorization. "They stated that they knew this would happen one day," said Special Agent Dillon Duke with Homeland Security Investigations on Friday.

The couple's attorneys contested the charges, arguing that merely providing shelter does not constitute harboring under federal law. "There was no concealment," Baez's attorney, Sergio Villarreal, stated, contending that the legal standard for harboring requires an attempt to evade detection.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen L. Betancourt, however, ruled that probable cause existed, setting bail at $100,000 with a $15,000 cash deposit for each defendant.

Avila-Guel's attorney, Jaime Diez, described the case as highly unusual, expressing concern that it could instill fear among business owners who offer housing to their employees. "It's a really scary thought," Diez said. "Their whole life right now is shattered."

Baez and Avila-Guel, both legal U.S. residents, moved to the Rio Grande Valley from Mexico over 20 years ago. They have five children, ranging in age from 10 to 31. Avila-Guel's brother, David Avila, defended them, calling his sister a hard-working business owner living the American dream. "This is just a stain," he said.