Arrested Immigrants Plead Not Guilty to Criminal Charges (Wisconson Ag Connection)

Arrested Immigrants Plead Not Guilty to Criminal Charges
USAgNet - 05/01/2008

Five workers arrested in the Pilgrim's Pride immigration raid earlier last month pleaded not guilty Tuesday to illegally re-entering the United States and fraudulently obtaining and using Social Security cards to gain employment. One defendant, 40-year-old Guatemala native Roberto Gabriel-Ramirez, whispered to defense attorney Anthony Martinez that he was "scared."

Mr. Gabriel-Ramirez and his co-defendant, 33-year-old Andres Loarca-Reynoso, had told U.S. Magistrate Susan Lee just seconds before that they did not understand the charges against them. Both stated they had less than a third-grade education, and Mr. Gabriel-Ramirez admitted he even had trouble understanding the Spanish language interpreter since his native tongue is Mam, a Mayan dialect.

"They're both very nervous and stressed out," Mr. Martinez told the court.

Mr. Gabriel-Ramirez and Mr. Loarca-Reynoso, along with Jose Luis Ramirez-Vasquez, are charged with one count each of felony illegal re-entry into the country after previously being deported.

All five men were part of a massive raid April 16 in which federal agents arrested 311 workers on illegal immigration charges at Pilgrim's Pride plants in Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas, Florida and West Virginia. One hundred of the workers were at the Chattanooga poultry plant, and most eventually will have to appear before a U.S. Immigration Court judge in either Atlanta or Memphis.

Federal Prosecutor Terra Bay said most of the workers arrested probably will be dealt with "administratively," meaning they possibly could be deported without being prosecuted for a specific crime.

But Martinez said his five clients are facing federal criminal charges because of previous immigration violations. The criminal cases must be resolved before the government decides how to handle their immigration status, he said.

Each will be tried separately in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga in late June or early July, according to court papers. Under federal law, all could serve at least two years in prison if convicted. The men will be held at the Bradley County Jail until their hearings.

Of the 100 workers arrested in Chattanooga, 36 were released with monitoring ankle bracelets as an alternative to detention, according to previous reports. Those who qualified for such release probably were the primary caregivers of small children or had health issues, Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Gail Montenegro said.