http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/ ... 8-23-53-12 Sep 18, 11:53 PM EDT

Hudson couple to be deported for harboring illegal immigrants

DENVER (AP) -- A couple from Hudson faces deportation, and their son was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine after they were sentenced Monday for smuggling and harboring illegal immigrants.

Moises Rodriguez, 65, and Maria Rodriguez, 61, were sentenced to time served, or about 11 months behind bars. Both were ordered into the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation proceedings, federal prosecutors said.

Their son, Javier Rodriguez, 39, was fined and sentenced to three years of probation, with the first six months under home detention.

All pled guilty to harboring and smuggling charges on May 19.

An investigation began after immigration officials received a tip in October 2004 of an illegal labor camp at a ranch in Hudson, according to court documents.

Moises and Javier Rodriguez would drive immigrants who had been smuggled into the U.S. to Hudson, where they would work for the family at various farms, according to a plea agreement.

The family deducted a "smuggling fee" of $1,100 to $1,300 from the workers' pay, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Javier Rodriguez and co-defendant Ignacio German Juarez, who has already been deported, supervised the workers, prosecutors said.

The family agreed to forfeit $128,000 in cash and some money in a bank account that was seized.

Attorneys for Moises and Maria Rodriguez said the couple came to the United States more than 30 years ago, received amnesty in the 1980s, and did not realize the severity of their crimes.

All three defendants told U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham they were remorseful and would their punishment.

"I didn't know we were wrong," Javier Rodriguez said.

Some of the couple's children cried outside the courtroom and said it would be difficult for their parents to return to Mexico. All eight of the couple's children and 20 grandchildren are in the U.S., they said.

Jeffrey Copp, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Denver, said Moises Rodriquez created the smuggling and work operation solely for his own profit and benefit. "Today's imposed prison sentences show that Rodriquez ultimately lost a lot more than he gained," Copp said in a written statement.

---