A Houston woman is accused of smuggling a mother and her children into the United States before holding them captive in her garage for years, according to court records.
On July 10, Houston police arrested Maria de Jesus Andrade, 52, and charged her with human trafficking and forced labor.
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Andrade’s bond was set at $75,000. She was released after paying bail. Her next court date is set on August 14.
What happened
Court documents state that the alleged crimes occurred in the 5700 block of Laurel Creek Way in Houston. The investigation began after police responded to a complaint from the victim regarding incidents that occurred in October 2023.
The victim, a woman from Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico, informed detectives that her own mother had introduced her to Andrade in 2011.
According to records, Andrade frequently traveled to Mexico for medical attention, and the victim drove her to appointments.
On February 14, 2023, following the loss of the victim’s son, Andrade reached out and offered assistance. She allegedly promised the woman a position as a cleaning lady at a Houston police station and said she could obtain work permits and visas for her and her two surviving children.
The victim trusted Andrade and decided to travel to the United States. Andrade arranged their journey in October 2023. However, the experience did not live up to expectations.
The victim asserted that a van filled with other passengers picked them up, and they quickly realized they were victims of trafficking. She claimed the smugglers yelled at them to switch off their phones before dropping them off at an unknown area, where they waited for two days.
Later, armed smugglers allegedly arrived and drove them to the border wall, telling them to sprint toward it.
The victim reported that when they got to the border, US immigration authorities appeared and began counting the group. She stated she witnessed the smugglers bribing the agents with enormous piles of US cash.
The group was required to walk for two hours along the border before being picked up by immigration vans. They were photographed, fingerprinted, and taken to a detention center in Arizona, where they were held for three to four days. After that, they were brought to a facility named “Alitas Blancas,” where the victim was instructed to contact a family member or friend to secure their release.
Eventually, the woman and her children flew into Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, where Andrade met them.
The woman and her children were informed that they would be residing in Andrade’s garage. Her daughter, on the other hand, was forced to sleep in the same bedroom as Andrade, cutting her off from her family. The victim believed this was done to prevent them from fleeing.
She reported living circumstances in the garage as having a bed and a fan but no air conditioning. Andrade forced the victim to clean her house and work at a Houston-area restaurant while keeping all of the money she earned. The victim said she never received the promised visa or work permit and had been smuggled into the country on false pretenses.
In February 2024, after months of confinement, the victim and her children were eventually able to escape when she discovered the garage door was unlocked.
