Immigrant working as landscaper in Washington smuggles Mexican woman to US, forces her into hard labor

A man living in Monroe, Washington, has pleaded guilty in Seattle federal court to harboring an illegal immigrant for financial gain after prosecutors said he smuggled a woman into the United States, then forced her to work for his landscaping business while threatening and assaulting her.

Federal officials noted that Rangel Ramirez-Manzano, 57, is a legal permanent resident, but that status can be revoked following a conviction, and he is likely to face deportation after completing any prison term.

Court records describe a relationship that began in Mexico, where Ramirez-Manzano had known the victim when she was younger. Prosecutors said he pursued a long-distance relationship and encouraged her to move to the US to be his girlfriend. He then paid $17,000 to have her smuggled across the border into Southern California, picked her up after the crossing, and paid the smugglers, according to the filings.

Once the woman arrived in Washington, authorities say the situation quickly turned abusive. Case files allege Ramirez-Manzano forced her into hard labor for his landscaping business, isolated her from others, restricted her food, and withheld wages for months while she performed strenuous work at multiple job sites. Prosecutors said he threatened her, assaulted her, and threatened harm against the children she had left behind in Mexico.

Ramirez-Manzano harbored the victim in his home from February 2022 through April 24, 2022, according to the case records. The woman ultimately escaped and asked a neighbor to call 911. Monroe police responded and took her for medical care for multiple injuries, authorities said. The FBI joined the Monroe police in the investigation.

Ramirez-Manzano was charged by criminal complaint and arrested in September 2022, and has remained in federal custody since then while undergoing mental health evaluations and treatment. He entered a guilty plea in the US District Court, and US District Judge Robert S. Lasnik set sentencing for March 5, 2026. Ramirez-Manzano had initially faced four federal felony charges connected to how the victim was treated, but the case stretched on for years because of repeated delays over whether he was mentally competent to stand trial, before ending with the plea agreement.

In the plea agreement, Ramirez-Manzano admitted the victim performed at least $16,000 worth of work for his business without compensation. As part of the resolution, Ramirez-Manzano agreed to pay the victim $16,000 in restitution. Investigators seized $16,000 in cash from his work truck, and that money will be forfeited to the government to be used for restitution.

The harboring-for-financial-gain offense carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Prosecutors have agreed to recommend five years, though Judge Lasnik is not bound by that recommendation and may impose any lawful sentence.