Previously deported human smuggler sentenced to 10 years for conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — A Mexican man was sentenced Monday to 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to transport and harbor aliens, and illegally re-entering the U.S. after being deported.

This sentence was announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas. This investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Border Patrol.

Raul Ramirez-Martinez, 36, a previously deported illegal alien from Queretaro, Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen to 120 months on each of the charges, to be served concurrently.  As an illegal alien, he is expected to face deportation proceedings after he’s released from prison. Ramirez-Martinez pleaded guilty to the charges in May 2014.

According to court documents, the charges against Ramirez-Martinez stemmed from the discovery of 72 illegal aliens at a stash house in Brownsville.

Co-defendant Rodrigo Gonzalez-Alvarez, 22, went to trial in June 2014. CBP Border Patrol agents and HSI special agents testified that on March 27 they learned that a group of suspected illegal aliens were being harbored at a residence on Coral Court in Brownsville. HSI special agents later discovered at that location 72 illegal aliens from different Latin American countries. 

During their routine search, HSI special agents recovered a cell phone which they used to call other conspirators saying they had escaped the stash house as it was raided by immigration agents. As a result, Ramirez-Martinez and other alien smugglers were arrested as they attempted to pick up the “aliens” who had run from the house.

The investigation also led HSI special agents to a trailer in Olmito, Texas, where they arrested Gonzalez-Alvarez and others. At trial, special agents presented the recovered “ledgers” with names of smuggled aliens, some of which had already been transported north. Aliens held at the house testified they were initially kept at the trailer in cramped, standing-room conditions before being taken to the stash house.

Testimony revealed Ramirez-Martinez headed the alien smuggling organization. The illegal aliens, who paid up to $4,000 each, were turned over to him for housing and transportation north.

In addition to Ramirez-Martinez, the following co-defendants have already been sentenced to federal prison sentences:  Claudia Cerda-Lucio, 34 months; Gonzalez-Alvarez, 60 months; Rafael Hernandez, five years’ probation; Miguel Pucheta-Malaga, 24 months; and Rafael de la Cruz-Bautista, 46 months. With the exception of Gonzalez-Alvarez, all pleaded guilty to the charges.

Ramirez-Martinez will remain in federal custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Oscar Ponce, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted this case.