After two weeks in jail, ropa usada manager posts bond

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A man arrested during a major immigration raid in McAllen posted bond Friday after more than two weeks in jail.

Homeland Security Investigations arrested Pedro Quintero Cardenas, 29, of Mission on Oct. 2, when agents raided Cardenas General Merchandise in McAllen.

Quintero — who managed the family business — is accused of hiring people who lacked permission to work in the United States.

U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton set bond at $75,000 with a $20,000 cash deposit.

“I’m a little torn here,” Tipton said during a hearing on Wednesday. “Because he does have a lot of ties to Mexico, which makes it, I think, fairly easy for him to go across the border and not return.”

Tipton, however, decided that Quintero could be released on bond — if he agreed to home detention and location monitoring.

Quintero accepted the conditions and posted bond Friday.

Cardenas General Merchandise purchased used clothing from Goodwill, Planet Aid and other nonprofit organizations, according to documents filed in an unrelated lawsuit.

Homeland Security Investigations, which is part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, raided Cardenas General Merchandise and four other businesses on Oct. 2.

Agents detained Quintero and more than 10 employees who entered the United States using tourist visas.

“He admitted to hiring visa holders and undocumented individuals,” said Special Agent Mirna Garcia, who testified during a hearing on Oct. 7. “He also admitted to paying them in cash and not withholding taxes or Social Security from their paychecks.”

Agents charged Quintero with encouraging or inducing an alien to reside in the United States unlawfully, which is a felony, and unlawful employment, which is a misdemeanor.

“The business itself was an illegal enterprise,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Cook Profit, who is prosecuting the case, said during the Oct. 7 hearing. “Because it was employing these illegal individuals that had no legal status to work in the United States.”

A report prepared by U.S. Pretrial Services recommended a $75,000 bond with a $10,000 deposit.

Profit, though, said the government was concerned Quintero might flee the country.

Quintero was born in Reynosa and moved to Mission when he was about 15 years old. He became a legal permanent resident in 2024.

If convicted, Quintero would be stripped of his permanent resident status, Profit said. As a result, the government placed an immigration detainer on him.

Attorney Edelmiro Arredondo III, who represents Quintero, said his client wasn’t a flight risk.

Quintero’s wife is a United States citizen, Arrendondo said, and she’s pregnant.

After reviewing the report, U.S. Magistrate Judge Juan F. Alanis set bond at $75,000 with a $7,500 deposit.

Profit appealed the decision, which kept Quintero in jail for two weeks.

Tipton, the federal judge, heard the appeal by videoconference on Wednesday.

“If he is released, he will then go to an ICE facility,” Profit said. “And they will determine whether or not he can retain his permanent legal resident status.”

Arredondo said that wasn’t necessarily correct.

In some cases, Arreondo said people with immigration detainers are released directly from the courthouse by the U.S. Marshals Service.

“We do believe, judge, that there are conditions that your honor can set to ensure that our client, Mr. Pedro Quintero, makes his appearances in federal court,” Arredondo said.

“And what would those be?” Tipton asked.

Arredondo suggested home detention and location monitoring.

Tipton agreed. He kept Quintero’s bond at $75,000 but increased the cash deposit to $20,000.

If convicted on the felony charge, Quintero faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison.