United States v. Michael McClellan
2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 12582, 794 F.3d 743, 2015 WL 4451052 (2015)
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Rule of Law:
Providing housing to a known undocumented alien constitutes illegal harboring under 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii) when there is evidence the defendant intended to safeguard the alien from detection by authorities. This intent can be inferred from actions that make the alien's detection more difficult, even if the defendant's primary motive is financial gain.
Facts:
- Michael McClellan and his wife, Tina, operated a daycare (T & M) where they instructed employees to falsify applications and meal records to fraudulently obtain reimbursements from the State of Illinois.
- In 2008, McClellan purchased The Paragon restaurant in Indiana, which employed undocumented workers in its kitchen.
- McClellan and his wife purchased a house on St. John Road using funds wired from the T & M daycare's account.
- McClellan provided this house, rent-free and with utilities paid, to several of his undocumented kitchen staff from The Paragon.
- In a recorded conversation, McClellan admitted to his manager, Horacio Bastida, that he knew the kitchen staff ('the other guys') were in the country illegally.
- In another recording, McClellan complained the employees should work harder because they were receiving free rent, utilities, and food.
- McClellan told Bastida that the undocumented workers, who used fake social security numbers, should no longer use the electronic time clock system to avoid creating a 'paper trail'.
Procedural Posture:
- A federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment against Michael McClellan, charging him with harboring illegal aliens, mail fraud, and engaging in a monetary transaction with criminally derived property.
- The case was tried before a jury in the U.S. District Court.
- McClellan did not object to the jury instructions regarding the harboring charge.
- The jury found McClellan guilty on all five counts.
- The district court sentenced McClellan to a concurrent term of fifty-one months on each count.
- McClellan (appellant) appealed his conviction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
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Issue:
Does providing known undocumented employees with free housing, utilities, and instructions to avoid creating a 'paper trail' constitute harboring an illegal alien under 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii)?
Opinions:
Majority - Ripple, J.
Yes, providing known undocumented employees with free housing and utilities constitutes illegal harboring when it is done with the intent to safeguard them from detection by authorities. The court held that harboring is more than simply providing shelter; it involves an intent to help the alien evade detection. This intent need not be the sole purpose and can be inferred from the defendant's actions. Here, McClellan's provision of free housing near the workplace, coupled with his instruction to employees to stop using the electronic time clock to avoid a 'paper trail,' were 'strong measures to keep them here' and made their detection more difficult. These actions allowed McClellan to exploit cheap labor while minimizing the risk of his employees' illegal status being discovered, thus satisfying the intent element for harboring.
Analysis:
This decision clarifies the 'harboring' provision of 8 U.S.C. § 1324, establishing that a specific intent to shield an alien from authorities is a required element when the charge is based on providing shelter. It builds upon the precedent in United States v. Costello by holding that this intent can be proven through circumstantial evidence, such as actions that make an alien's detection less likely. The ruling is significant because it connects the act of harboring to commercial exploitation, showing that a defendant's primary motive of financial gain does not negate the intent to safeguard aliens if that is an integral part of the business model.
