Opinion ID: 766394
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Harboring Six or More Aliens

Text: 37 The 1995 version of the Guidelines, under which Kim was sentenced, provided for a two-step increase in offense level if the offense involved the harboring of between six and 24 aliens. See Guidelines 2L1.1(b)(2)(A) (1995). In response to Kim's contention that there was no evidence that he had harbored as many as six aliens, the district court held a Fatico hearing. Following that hearing, the court found that Kim's basic modus operandi when dealing with illegal alien employees that he wished to retain was to direct or otherwise undertake to have them change their names, thus either violating 1324 or attempting to do so, and that Kim had followed that course with more than six employees. (Sentencing Transcript (Sent. Tr.) 56-57.) These findings were easily supported by the evidence. 38 In addition to the evidence presented at trial, the government presented testimony by Mendez and Farfan at the Fatico hearing. Consistently with his trial testimony, Mendez testified that Kim had directed him to tell various employees that in order to remain employed at Sewing Masters they must change their names. Mendez testified that he relayed that change-of-name instruction to [a]bout ten employees. (Sent. Tr. 4.) Mendez named eight of those employees, not including Farfan, at the Fatico hearing; at trial he had testified that he also relayed the change-of-name instruction to Farfan. In addition, Farfan testified at the hearing that she had observed Mendez issue such instructions to at least seven employees; she named those seven, including one employee whose name had not been mentioned in Mendez's testimony. In all, therefore, the witnesses identified, by name, a total of 10 illegal aliens who had been instructed to change their names and provide false documentation in order to remain employed by Kim's company. 39 Kim's contention that he himself did not know most of the harbored employees' names, did not give the change-of-name instructions to them directly, and did not know the number of illegal aliens who would change their names because they refused to be fired (Kim brief on appeal at 31-32), is immaterial. The district court was entitled to credit the testimony that, in instructing at least 10 employees to change their names and obtain new documentation, Mendez was relaying instructions from Kim. Plainly, the evidence supported the court's finding that Kim directed the harboring of more than six illegal aliens. 40