Five men, illegal immigrants from Guatemala and Mexico, had been living in the basement of an Eagan home for months. They had only bits of carpet on which to sleep, only the blankets they'd brought with them to stay warm. There was no kitchen, no heat and, except for in the very beginning, no pay.
They had been working in the Twin Cities as siding installers for about four months in modern-day slavery, forced into silence by their employer's threats to call police and have them deported.
On Wednesday, Joo Ok Kim, 62, was sentenced to two years in federal prison for "harboring and concealing aliens." He'd pleaded guilty Aug. 18 in a case that began March 28, 2009, when police received a call that led to his arrest.
What the five men endured is one of the more common forms of human trafficking, experts and law enforcement officials say. In the Twin Cities, several hundred people are estimated to be living in slavery.
"When we talk about modern-day human trafficking, a lot of people identify it only with prostitution, which is not true," said Patrick Atkinson, executive director of the Institute for Trafficked, Exploited and Missing Persons. "According to the International Labor Organization, 12.8 million people are living in slavery [globally], many of whom are forced labor."
Special agent Ann Quinn of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is a task force officer for Homeland Security Investigation, part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Her area of responsibility is human trafficking. It's happening here, she said, although she could not comment on other continuing investigations.
Path to servitude
Born in South Korea, Kim moved his family to the United States and found work in construction, but encountered what his attorney called "much strife and poverty," leading to a separation from his wife.
The five men -- Baldomer Sanchez-Rivers, Jose Lopez-Juarez, Santos Hernandez-Sanchez, Onorio Hernandez-Ortega and Fredy Ajche-Lopez -- crossed into the United States from Mexico between 1999 and 2006, working at various jobs before encountering Kim. Ajche-Lopez began working for Kim in 2005 in Texas. The others didn't meet Kim until 2008.
At some point, Quinn said, the men's meager pay -- "not enough to buy food" -- turned into no pay. They dared not report Kim, Quinn said. They had no documentation. But on March 28, an altercation between Kim and the men turned physical. Someone called Eagan police. A witness told police there was more to the case than met the eye, ICE spokesman Shawn Neudauer said.
The workers said they'd worked for a month for Kim's siding business without pay. Officers jailed four of them on immigration offenses. And soon, police uncovered what Chief Jim McDonald calls the first known case of human trafficking in his city.
In addition to serving his prison term, Kim must pay more than $22,000 in restitution. Immigration officials say he may also lose his legal residence status and could be deported to South Korea when his sentence is complete. It is possible that the five men, so afraid of deportation, could be allowed to stay in the United States, Neudauer said.
A mystery house
For years, neighbors had wondered about the many cars that would park outside the Eagan house -- and the secretive residents inside. But never, several of those neighbors said, did they suspect that human traffickers were victimizing illegal immigrants hidden away in the pink rambler's basement.
"If they don't speak English themselves, how could they get help?" Kathy Martin said. "It's really sad."
Kim's former neighbors spoke of what they called a mystery house. "You would just never see anyone over there," said Shandin Moyen, 35. "I know my other neighbors, but I never knew them, and I've been here for seven years. They made sure nobody knew them."
New owners Dave and Brittany Johnson have since closed up a secret, illegal back door that immigrants had been using to enter the house unseen from the back yard, where they parked vehicles next to a wooded area. Their neighbors say the Johnsons rehabilitated and brought peace to what was a rundown, chaotic household under former owners.
A few years back, before the Andersons bought the rambler, neighbors had passed around a complaint petition claiming 1475 Highview Av. was an eyesore. The yard went unmowed, trash piled up and vehicles parked in the yard, Ed Martin said. And police records show one assault with a knife at the house in November 2008.
But it wasn't until March 2009, when a worker called police after Kim allegedly went after him and the others, that the case broke open.
Trafficking not uncommon
While not confirming specific investigations, Neudauer said, "I would say there is a lot of trafficking in the Twin Cities. ... Proving it and getting people to trial [are] often the difficult part."
Atkinson, who has worked with victims of human trafficking worldwide, said they are lured by promises of jobs and better lives. "When they get here, their passports are taken. So is their money and their access to the telephone," he said. "They are told they are being watched ... at all times."
Officials of local construction unions say that what Kim was doing to undocumented workers is not unusual.
"In my 25 years in the business, it's been going on and it seems that it's becoming more and more common," said Harry Melander, president of the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council.
He said groups of illegal immigrants are "housed in unsafe, unsanitary, inhumane conditions. They're conditions that animals shouldn't be placed in. Anyone who does it should go to prison."
Terry Nelson, business manager of the local council of International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, said he has encountered cases of as many as 20 illegal immigrants forced to live in a contractor's basement. "They're transient, forced to move all over the place, can't speak English," Nelson said. "Chinese, Russians, lots of Latinos. They're not being paid the prevailing wage -- sometimes not even the minimum wage."
On Thursday, neighbor Patrick Shaw said two years isn't long enough for what Kim did.
"A lot of people get lied to and are promised a good life," he said of illegal immigrants. "They have hopes and dreams, but then are used and abused."
Staff writer Paul Walsh contributed to this report. jwalsh@startribune.com • 612-673-7428 jpowell@startribune.com • 952-882-9017 vonste@startribune.com • 612-673-7184
