The 19 young women, including six minors, forced to work in a New Jersey bar discovered during a federal raid in Union City last month, will not be deported and will remain in a safe place, say officials.

Steven Wagner of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that “since the 20th of January when these women were found, they were taken to safe locations far from their captors. They are receiving counseling and those who are underage are in the process of being handed over to child services.

“Around a dozen of these women have been classified under a program protecting trafficking victims, and we are in the process of doing the same with the rest of the group. Once they are classified as trafficking victims they are protected by the laws designed for those cases,” said Wagner.

Michael Drewniak, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice office in Newark, reiterated that, “None of the 19 women found during the raid has been deported. All of them are in a location that cannot be revealed, but it may be possible for them to stay in the country legally. The case is still under investigation.”

The women were discovered last month during a raid by federal authorities, which focused on a house located on New York Avenue, a bar on 22nd Street and an apartment located on the second floor above the bar, all in Union City.

During the raid, a woman identified as Ana Luz Rosales Martínez was arrested charged with conspiracy to bring people illegally into the United States. Authorities are also looking for Rosales’ sister, Noris Elvira Rosales Martínez, currently a fugitive, as well as at least two other people who may be connected to the case.

According to the federal allegations, the Rosales sisters led a network dedicated to bringing women from Honduras to the United States with the promise of work and a place to live.

Once the women got to Union City they were forced to work in a bar called El Paisano, where they had to drink and dance with the clientele. They used the money earned doing this work to pay back a fee ranging from $15,000 to $20,000 for being brought from Honduras, in addition to rent and food expenses.

The victims described to authorities the manner in which they were fooled into coming to the United States with the promise of waitressing jobs, only to find a harsh reality, different from what they expected, upon their arrival in the land of opportunity.

When these women arrived to this country, they were forced to work practically as slaves, taking turns with male clients, unable to leave, and under the constant threat of being denounced to immigration services if they did not obey the orders given to them or pay the money they owed.

In the declaration made to authorities, several victims told agents that the Rosales sisters had suggested that the fastest and easiest way to earn money and repay their debt was to work as prostitutes.

The investigation began when a government informant told agents that, on January 15, he had seen his 14-year-old cousin from Honduras working in El Paisano. She confessed to him that Noris Rosales Martínez had brought her there illegally and was forcing her to work in the establishment.

The informant asked Rosales if he could take his cousin out to eat, to which she replied that the girl was only allowed to move between the house where she was living and the bar, and that she could not go anywhere else until her debt was paid.

The federal government estimates that between 18,000 and 20,000 people, including women, men and children, are brought illegally into the United States under false pretenses. Approximately 4,000 of these individuals are brought to New Jersey, especially to Union, Hudson and Essex counties.

The Rosales sisters face a maximum of 10 years in prison. Although they have not been accused of trafficking as of yet, they may face the charge soon, according to the Department of Justice.

Protected by the law

Under the Human Trafficking Victims Protection Act, approved by the U.S. Congress in 2000, the 19 women and girls are eligible to receive the same benefits awarded to political refugees, such as public assistance for housing and food, in addition to a visa that allows them to live and work legally in the United States.