2 illegal aliens plead guilty in separate East Texas trials to transporting illegal aliens, illegal re-entry

BEAUMONT, Texas — Two illegal aliens pleaded guilty Tuesday in separate but similar cases to transporting illegal aliens, and illegally re-entering the United States after having been deported.

Jorge Gonzalez-Ramirez, 27, Guatemala, and Joel Sanchez-Guzman, 25, Mexico, both pleaded guilty to their criminal charges June 4.

Both cases were investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Beaumont, Texas. Corrigan (Texas) Police Department (CPD) assisted in the investigation involving Gonzalez-Ramirez. Nacogdoches (Texas) Police Department and Lufkin (Texas) Police Department assisted in the investigation involving Sanchez Guzman.

According to information presented in court, Gonzalez-Ramirez was stopped for a traffic violation in Corrigan, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2019. During the traffic stop, it was discovered that he and his six passengers were illegal aliens. Among the passengers, was a 7-year-old child traveling with a purported relative, without proper safety restraints. Federal immigration agents arrived at CPD and took custody of all individuals and transported them to the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas. This investigation determined that some of the passengers, including the minor, had traveled through Mexico from Guatemala, illegally crossed into the United States, and were then illegally transported to Houston. Gonzalez-Ramirez admitted that he picked up his passengers from an apartment in Houston and was promised money for transporting them. Gonzalez-Ramirez had been deported to Guatemala in March 2011.

According to information presented in court, law enforcement officers discovered Sanchez-Guzman on Feb. 16, 2019, transporting eight individuals he knew to be illegal aliens. Further investigation revealed he had been paid to transport the illegal aliens through Texas to the northeastern United States. The investigation also determined that Sanchez-Guzman had previously transported other illegal aliens in this manner.

Under federal statute, both Gonzalez-Ramirez and Sanchez-Guzman face up to 10 years in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes; the sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the U.S. Probation Office completes a presentence investigation.