Jonathan Garcia-Ramirez, 22, of Houston, Texas, pled guilty in U. S. District Court on August 7 to transportation of illegal aliens, announced U. S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and Raymond R. Parmer Jr., Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New Orleans.
Ramirez was traveling on Interstate 20 East through Rankin County on April 15, 2012, when stopped for a traffic violation by a Pearl Police Officer.
Ramirez was operating a twelve passenger van with 10 undocumented individuals from Mexico. The van trip originated in Houston, Texas with Ramirez’s first passenger drop in Atlanta, then to New York and New Jersey before returning to Texas. Ramirez was to be paid $1,500 for transporting the illegal aliens to the various designated cities.
Ramirez will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate on October 18, 2012, at 9:30 a.m. and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
