HOUSTON – A Houston woman is accused of smuggling a mother and her children into the United States and then holding them captive inside her garage for years, according to court records.
Maria de Jesus Andrade, 52, was arrested on July 10 by Houston police and charged with human trafficking for forced labor.
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Andrade’s bond was set at $75,000, and she was released after posting bail. Her next court date is scheduled for August 14.
What happened
According to court documents, the alleged crimes took place in the 5700 block of Laurel Creek Way in Houston. The investigation began after police responded to a call following an outcry from the victim about events that began in October 2023.
The victim, a woman from Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico, told investigators she was introduced to Andrade through her own mother back in 2011.
Over the years, Andrade would often travel to Mexico for medical care, and the victim would drive her to appointments, records show.
On Feb. 14, 2023, after the death of the victim’s son, Andrade reached out and offered to help. She reportedly promised the woman a job as a cleaning lady at a police station in Houston and said she could arrange work permits and visas for the woman and her two surviving children.
Trusting Andrade, the victim agreed to travel to the United States. In Oct. 2023, Andrade coordinated their journey. However, the trip was nothing like what had been promised.
The victim said they were picked up in a van crowded with other people and soon realized they were being smuggled. She said the smugglers yelled at them to turn off their phones and dropped them off at an unknown location, where they waited for two days.
Later, armed smugglers reportedly arrived and drove them to the border wall, instructing them to run toward it.
Upon reaching the border, the victim said, U.S. immigration agents arrived and began counting the group. She claimed she saw the smugglers bribe the agents with large stacks of U.S. bills.
The group was made to walk along the border for two hours before being picked up by immigration vans. They were photographed, fingerprinted, and transported to a detention center in Arizona, where they stayed for three to four days. Afterwards, they were taken to a facility called “Alitas Blancas,” where the victim was told to call a family member or friend to secure their release.
Eventually, the victim and her children flew into Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, where Andrade picked them up.
At Andrade’s home, the victim and her children were told they would be staying in the garage. Her daughter, however, was forced to sleep in a bedroom with Andrade, separating her from her family. The victim believed this was done to prevent them from running away.
As for living conditions, she described the garage to have a bed and a fan, but no air conditioning. Andrade forced the victim to clean her house and work at a Houston-area restaurant, keeping all the money the victim earned. The victim said she was never given the promised visa or work permit and realized she had been smuggled into the country under false pretenses.
After months of captivity, in February 2024, the victim and her children were finally able to escape when she found the garage door unlocked.