We're back and ready for our next case of the day.
Let's open with a quote
by Chinese philosopher Confucius.
It reads,
"Even the most humble of professions
are worthy of respect."
No doubt about that.
Please bring out the litigants.
I've worked for this man for over ten years.
He can't toss me out into the street like some dog.
This bitch is so ungrateful.
I fed her and gave her shelter for years.
Was I supposed to stay with her forever
and die by her side?
Okay. Hello.
-Hello. -Hello.
Blanca, you're suing Mr. White.
Tell me why you're suing him
and what you demand to settle this case.
Hello, ma'am.
I'm here to sue Mr. White for $50,000.
I've worked for him for ten years now.
He recently decided to kick me to the curb
for no real reason at all.
During the time I worked for him...
I arrived to this country illegally ten years ago
and I met him in church.
He offered to help me.
He told me to move into his home.
I was to help him with the chores
and assist him with anything he needed help with.
He had no one.
I was to look after the house for $200 a week.
However, he never paid my fee.
I've been his nurse, too.
He fell and broke his foot.
I had to nurse him back to health.
So he never paid you your $200 weekly salary?
No, he never paid me.
I fed her and gave you shelter!
Salary is separate from all that.
-I did pay her fee. -Every now and then...
if I needed something, he'd give me money for it.
It wasn't a salary, though.
He'd give me $20 or $30.
He never really paid me, though.
I never had money of my own.
My main goal was to bring my daughter over from Mexico
after I left her with her stepfather.
I left her in his care when she was 15 years old.
I had to come to this country in search of a better future.
However, I fell into the hands of this man
and I've been his slave for ten years.
Now I'm homeless.
That's why I'm suing him for $50,000.
But why did he kick you out?
About seven months ago...
After a while,
I managed to bring my daughter over to this country.
-Oh! -I brought her here!
Yes, she's here now. However...
I assume your daughter's an adult.
Yes, she's an adult. She's 25 years old.
I showed him pictures of her
and he offered to bring her here.
He thought she was young and pretty,
so he decided to help me.
He brought her here and paid for all the costs.
However, I've noticed that my daughter has changed.
He's changed as well.
He's being more rude and aggressive than usual.
My daughter's changed into a completely different person.
What do you mean by different?
We're in love, ma'am. She's just jealous.
Hold on, Mr. White.
Sorry.
What do you mean by different?
She keeps reminding me
that I didn't get her when I told her I would.
He's turned her against me.
That's all he ever does.
My daughter also wants to kick me out of the house.
I think there's something going on between them.
He'd always take her out
with the excuse that he was going to show her around
or take her out to eat.
I trusted him, but he took advantage of my trust.
Their attitudes have changed.
-So your daughter's... -I think they're an item.
She's not on your side.
She doesn't support you.
I wouldn't want to think that, but it appears so.
Okay...
So...
When you speak of abuse, what exactly do you mean?
I've cooked all his meals.
He used to drink a lot. He was a terrible drunk.
We weren't dating or anything,
but I was basically working as an unpaid housekeeper.
He never paid me.
He'd wake me up at odd hours of the night,
depending on when he'd get home.
I'd have to take care of him.
If he brought along friends, I had to wait on all of them.
You pointed out that you weren't dating.
Was there anything sexual going on between you?
No, but every time I'd try looking for a different job,
he'd threaten to call Immigration.
That's not true. That's a lie.
I'd never call Immigration on her.
You felt he was extorting you into staying.
Yes, I felt as if I was in danger.
He'd always tell me that if I left home,
Immigration was going to take me away.
Okay, understood.
So you demand $50,000 as payment
for your ten years of working and putting up with abuse.
He never paid you a dime,
which is why you want that money.
Understood.
How do you respond, Mr. White?
Look, ma'am.
I gave her a job.
Then she started telling me about her daughter
and how she'd left her in Mexico.
Did you bring evidence of payment?
No, because she has no Social Security number.
I'd pay her in cash.
Aren't there any receipts?
I've always paid her in cash.
No receipts, though?
I never guessed she'd do this to me.
What?
I welcomed her into my home.
I gave her food and a roof over her head.
I would pay her, too. She seemed like a good person.
I never expected her to do something like this.
I had her daughter legally brought in.
-How? -I spent nearly $7,000 on that!
Did you get her a work visa?
I did. I did all the paperwork.
You had ulterior motives to do so.
No. Nonsense.
She always wanted me to sleep with her.
After a night of drinking,
I'd find her in my bed waiting for me.
She even raped me once.
She raped you?
How'd that happen?
Yes, ma'am.
She's always wanted to be with me.
She thought she owned the house.
Whenever I'd have guests over,
instead of taking care of them,
she'd sit down to socialize with them.
She always wanted people to think we were in a relationship.
Once her daughter came to this country,
even she noticed what was going on.
She tried fooling her daughter,
but as it turns out,
her daughter and I are in love.
Now she's constantly jealous.
She's always looking for a fight.
I don't want her around the house anymore.
Her mind has been poisoned.
She's full of hate and resentment.
And now she's a nuisance to your relationship with her daughter.
Exactly!
It's not a crime!
I'm a single man.
There's nothing wrong with her daughter falling for me.
We're dating now.
What's wrong with keeping your mother-in-law around?
She has other intentions.
She's hateful.
She wants to forbid her daughter from seeing me.
I'm not a bad person, though.
You never answered my question.
How did she rape you?
Whenever I'd drink at home or at a party,
I'd find her in my room, in her underwear,
under the covers.
That's not rape, though.
She didn't physically rape me, but...
-Did she hit you? -No.
She cried, begging me to sleep with her,
but I don't want to sleep with a woman like her!
Why not?
Because I'm not attracted to her!
Not even drunk?
No way!
I've told her to keep out of my relationships.
So did she tie you down and rape you?
No, she didn't tie me down or rape me.
You claimed she raped you just because.
She didn't really rape you.
Yes, perhaps.
She practically forced herself on me.
Did you bring a witness?
Yes...
Bring out the defendant's witness.
Hello.
Hello, ma'am.
What's your name?
Estephania.
Who are you?
I'm Blanca's daughter.
So you're Blanca's daughter and Mr. White's girlfriend.
Yes, he is my girlfriend.
I'm very mad at her.
Why are you mad at your mother?
She fought for you. She worked...
Can you give me a chance to explain?
Please do.
My mother left the country when I was 15.
She went in search of the American dream.
She left me in the care of my stepfather for ten years.
That is, her husband.
I was abused, beaten, and emotionally traumatized.
He was a sicko.
He'd leave me covered in giant hickeys and bruises.
I'd call my mother and tell her,
"Mommy, please come get me. I want to leave.
Let me go to a friend's house, at least."
She'd never answer the phone.
Whenever she did, she'd tell me she was busy.
How's a 15-year-old supposed to understand that?
He wouldn't let me use the phone.
Can I talk?
What I don't understand is...
Why'd you leave your daughter with her stepfather?
He was abusive.
Why didn't the stepfather go
in search of the American dream
while you stayed with your daughter?
I didn't want her to have to cross the border.
Excuses, excuses!
She just didn't want to deal with me.
She never helped me.
What else happened? Tell me.
Two years later, I tried crossing the border
and I came across some coyotes that kidnapped me.
They asked me for ransom money,
so I called her and told her I needed $2,000.
-I asked her for the money. -He never loaned it to me.
She told me to wait till she had saved it.
How was I supposed to wait?
During that time,
I was beaten and raped.
Not one or two guys. It was a group.
She never managed to get the money.
I was left to fend for myself. I tried to escape, but...
I lived with a friend for the next eight years.
May I speak?
Silence, please.
You lived with a friend... in Mexico?
Yes, I came back.
I was unable to cross the border, so I came back.
Eight years later, Mr. White helped me out.
He got me a work visa and brought me here legally.
We're planning on getting married,
but I don't want her around.
She needs to go.
You're planning on marrying her?
Yes.
I already proposed, but I want her gone.
Why, though?
They hate each other. The house is full of hatred.
For starters, she acts like she's the lady of the house
and I'm the only lady of the house.
I'm Mr. White's partner.
Secondly, based off what my boyfriend Mr. White said...
She comes on to him.
Always. She sure does.
I've seen her do it.
So there's rivalry between you two.
There's some kind of competition.
She's jealous of me.
I'm the lady of the house.
So there's a rivalry between you.
She's jealous of me.
She's always scheming and she never tells the truth.
That's the problem.
I just don't want her around. She needs to go!
Understood.
Bring out the defendant's witness.
Goodness gracious!
The way things happen sometimes.
Hello, ma'am.
Hello, sir. What's your name?
Tomas.
Okay. Who are you?
I'm the gardener, ma'am.
-Mr. White's gardener? -Yes.
For how long?
-Five years. -Okay.
What's your statement?
I'm here in support of Blanca.
This man's exploitative... and he's a f---ing racist.
Mr. White, those kinds of racist comments
are unacceptable in my courtroom.
Unacceptable!
You'd better refer to him the proper way.
He's shameless.
I'd do work around the house and he wouldn't pay me.
He hates me because I'm dark-skinned.
I'd plant roses
and this whale would come and tip them over.
Do you have a criminal record?
Yes, ma'am. I was arrested.
-For what? -He's a criminal!
I got caught selling drugs.
So Mr. White gave you a job
when practically no one else would.
And this is how he repays me!
Ungrateful bastard. Is this how you repay me?
-What's his problem? -They're in cahoots together.
They're both teaming up against him.
This woman's turned him against us.
May I say something, ma'am?
So you're saying they're trying to victimize themselves.
Yes, exactly.
I've fed them and gave them shelter.
She's just trying to justify herself.
"I deserve payment
for all the things I've been through."
Let's welcome Attorney Lizette Sierra
and psychologist Madeline Hernandez.
There's a rivalry between this mother and daughter.
To me, it seems rather... detestable, really.
It's awful for mother and daughter
to feel as though they're rivals.
Would those feelings make sense in this situation
given the circumstances surrounding them?
It would make sense.
This is a clear example
of a situation that breeds rivalry.
This rivalry stems from resentment.
We're not seeing a mother-daughter connection here.
There never was a connection.
It's sad, but it happens now more than ever,
especially amongst immigrants.
Many leave their children behind when they emigrate.
When it comes to Mexican immigrants, for example,
10% of parents leave their children behind
in the care of family members.
These children don't receive adequate care
and oftentimes quit school.
They end up as drug users...
And grow up full of resentment.
Loads of it.
The abandonment hurts more
than whatever trouble their parents go through
in search of the American dream.
That's why I always tell people
that there's nothing dishonorable about being poor.
So long as you raise your children right
and are there for them...
Being there for your children
matters more than anything else.
Okay. Now...
Can illegal immigrants get hired?
No!
It's a crime, right?
A federal crime.
The Immigration act clearly states
that upon first infraction,
they'll be penalized with a civil fine of $375.
That's just for the first person they employ.
They could also face six months in prison,
of which can be increased to 10 years
in cases of repeated infractions.
That is, someone with a history of hiring illegal immigrants.
What he's doing could also be considered fraud.
So both sides are facing complicated repercussions.
I love how he keeps threatening his employees
with a call to Immigration.
Immigration's going to go after his employees
while the federal government goes after him.
If you're an illegal immigrant
and your employer is threatening to call Immigration,
you can counter threaten them.
"Oh, you want to threaten me because I don't have papers?
Well, I'm going to accuse you of hiring illegal immigrants."
It all balances out.
Okay. Wonderful.
Here's my ruling.
There's a lack of evidence here.
These are the only facts.
He employed you for ten years.
You stayed working there for ten years.
You never left or complained.
You also asked him
to bring your daughter to this country.
He invested $7,000 to bring your daughter here.
I don't see what's so wrong here.
There was no rape or abuse.
He claimed to be raped, but it was a bogus claim.
Your claim is denied.
It's final. Case closed.
Be kind, be careful, get educated,
give respect to get respect, and may God help us!
See you next time. Thanks for joining us.
CC: TELEMUNDO NETWORK captioning@telemundo.com (305) 887-3060
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