A Mexican national living illegally in Mission, Texas, has been arrested for allegedly running an operation that hired and harbored illegal aliens at a local taco restaurant.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Juan Ramirez Cortez, 39, was taken into custody on July 10 after a coordinated investigation led by the FBI in collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Department of Public Safety.
Cortez now stands accused of reportedly knowingly employing illegal aliens without any authorization to work in the U.S. while managing the Ole Taco restaurant in Mission, Texas.
In addition to Cortez, law enforcement arrested 17 other people at the restaurant, all determined to be in the country illegally. Authorities at the DOJ say Cortez was directly responsible for bringing in at least 10 illegal aliens and finding employment for them.
Cortez faces felony charges of unlawful employment and harboring illegal aliens. If convicted, he could face up to five years in federal prison, as well as a permanent ban from returning to America.
Cortez has already made his first court appearance in the case, and remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing set for July 15 before Judge Juan F. Alanis.
The recent arrest comes as the U.S. government continues to crack down on the influx of illegal aliens into the country, and some of the benefits they receive once they get here.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on July 10 a new policy aimed at blocking illegal aliens from accessing specific healthcare programs, a shift expected to save states like Texas millions of dollars.
The change updates how HHS interprets the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, a law designed initially to reform welfare and clarify eligibility for public benefits.
Under the revised interpretation, the term “federal public benefit” will be more strictly enforced, closing loopholes that had allowed illegal aliens to receive certain taxpayer-funded healthcare services since 1998.
“For too long, the government has diverted hardworking Americans’ tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration. Today’s action changes that—it restores integrity to federal social programs, enforces the rule of law, and protects vital resources for the American people,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.