McALLEN, TEXAS (ValleyCentral) — A man who installed lights and sirens on police cars is headed to prison for harboring migrants.
Jose Luis Ramirez, 42, of Roma owned a small shop that serviced the vehicles of the Escobares Police Department and Escobares Volunteer Fire Department.
“The day I got arrested, I had an Escobares truck there,” said Ramirez, who called CBS 4 News from jail to explain the situation. “I was working on it.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Ramirez in September 2022, when federal agents found two migrants hiding in his shop.
One of the migrants, a man named Israel Aro-Victoria, said he worked for Ramirez.
“Aro stated that he stayed at the shop for about 15 days to avoid law enforcement and helped Ramirez work on vehicles,” according to the criminal complaint against Ramirez. “In return, Ramirez would occasionally bring him food.”
During the investigation, federal agents found ledgers that suggested other people who passed through the shop had paid thousands to smugglers. Ramirez pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens.
“I made a bad mistake,” Ramirez said on Jan. 3, when he returned to court for sentencing. “I want to apologize for that.”
U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa apparently wasn’t impressed by his apology.
“You have a history that goes on and on and on,” Hinojosa said.
In 2006, when federal agents raided a stash house in Escobares, they caught Ramirez with two semi-automatic rifles and more than 1,200 pounds of marijuana.
Ramirez told agents he worked for a local volunteer fire department but had moved to the Mexican city of Miguel Aleman “due to marital problems.”
According to Ramirez, someone in Miguel Aleman offered to pay him $400 a week to guard the stash house. He agreed.
“Ramirez stated the weapons found inside the house are used to guard the marijuana,” according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.
A judge sentenced Ramirez to three years and 10 months in prison.
The government arrested Ramirez again in 2015 when Border Patrol caught him picking up migrants near Fronton.
Two migrants jumped from Ramirez’s truck and had to be hospitalized, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case. Agents found Ramirez hiding in the brush.
A judge sentenced Ramirez to four years in prison.
After being released, Ramirez returned to Starr County and opened a small shop. The city of Escobares started paying him to fix cars.
“I was working on the — how do you call them — the fleet units,” Ramirez said. “The police cars, the fire department trucks and stuff. Working on their lights, sirens.”
Ramirez, though, also returned to smuggling. After his arrest, Ramirez lost his tools, his shop and his house.
“Nothing has ever stopped you. Arrests or convictions or anything. You just continue doing it over and over again,” Hinojosa said. “Having been blessed with United States citizenship, you have decided that your entire life is dedicated to finding some way to violate the laws. Explain that to the court.”
“Your honor, I don’t know what to say. I know I made horrible choices. That’s all I can say,” Ramirez said. “I know I’ve made horrible choices.”
Hinojosa sentenced Ramirez to 21 months in prison followed by two years on supervised release.
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