Modern House Slaves
Illegal immigration makes it so easy to manipulate the immigrants. They are the target of politicians who want them to vote. They are the target of businesses who want them to pay premiums. They are also the target of individuals who use their illegal status to keep them has house slaves.
Celestin, now 22, testified Wednesday that she considered suicide after years of beatings and intimidation. She tearfully described sleeping on the floor, rummaging through cast-off clothes in the garage for something to wear, bathing from a bucket or a garden hose and scrubbing floors when she should have been in school.
She said Theodore and Maude Paulin often struck her with their hands, shoes or objects such as a curling iron or a mortar if she didn’t finish the work to their satisfaction.
Defense attorneys argued during trial the Celestin’s allegations of abuse were motivated by her desire to be a permanent legal resident of the U.S.
The jury was also asked to consider whether Paulin should forfeit her home and other property used to keep Celestin working and out of school.
This went on for six years. This is not isolated. Think of this story the next time you hear opponents of enforcing immigration laws making excuses for keeping things as they are.
