September 15, 2009

COLOMBIAN SENTENCED FOR FALSELY CLAIMING
TO BE A U.S. CITIZEN

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Diego A. Ramirez-Giraldo, 33, a Colombian national, was sentenced on September 14, 2009 before United States District Court Senior Judge J. Garvan Murtha. Ramirez was sentenced to time served; he had been detained for ten months. He pleaded guilty on May 11, 2009 to falsely representing that he was a United States citizen. After the sentencing hearing, Ramirez was turned over to immigration authorities for deportation proceedings.

Court documents show that Ramirez was arrested on November 13, 2008 when he was found near a job site, with a group of fellow Colombians. The co-workers had proper authorization to reside and work in the United States but Ramirez did not. He therefore pretended to be from Puerto Rico, since Puerto Ricans are native citizens of the United States. However, he was unable to answer any questions about Puerto Rico. He was detained and then confessed that he was from Colombia and that he had used a fraudulent Colombian passport to enter the United States.

The case was investigated by Border Patrol agents of the United States Customs and Border Protection. Ramirez is represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Alison S. Arms. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Gelber.