Parkland, Washington, United States
JIAN ZHONG TANG, 37, used employment agencies in New York, Chicago, and California to find and employ workers for his restaurant, the New Great Wall in Tacoma, WA. The workers never filled out any paperwork related to their employment, never provided any proof of their status in the U.S. and were paid in cash. TANG admitted he knew some of the workers were not legally in the United States. TANG was sentenced to ten months in prison and three years of supervised release for Concealing and Harboring an Illegal Alien.
Location
United States · Parkland, Washington · 2005 (location generalized to protect survivors)
Response & intervention
See above (Intervention).
On September 23, 2005, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement executed a search warrant on TANG’s Tacoma home. They found ten people living in the home. Four of the residents were undocumented individuals who were not legally in the United States. The residents were all employed at TANG’s restaurant. A search of the restaurant revealed two additional employees who were not legally living and working in the U.S.
The court ordered TANG to pay more than $38,000 in back wages to the workers who were exploited.
This case was investigated by ICE and the US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don't have a verifiable source on file yet — use “Report a problem” below to add one.