A 26-year-old man who’d been illegally living in Cody was returned to his home country of Mexico after being arrested for alleged drunk driving.

Cody police stopped Jorge O. Moreno-Ramirez’s truck on Big Horn Avenue around 1:30 a.m. on March 22, court records and police logs show. An officer ultimately arrested Moreno-Ramirez for an alleged turn violation and driving while under the influence of alcohol; a police citation indicates a test placed his blood alcohol concentration at 0.17%, or more than twice the legal driving limit of 0.08%.

However, before his first appearance in Park County Circuit Court, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took custody of Moreno-Ramirez, the Park County Sheriff’s Office said.

According to a regional ICE spokesperson, Moreno-Ramirez had legally entered the U.S. as a visitor in September 2024, but was supposed to leave the country by March 2025. In staying beyond that date, “he violated the terms of his visa, making him illegally present in the United S[t]ates,” the spokesperson said.

Records show Moreno-Ramirez voluntarily agreed to return to Mexico after his arrest and did so on March 30. ICE encourages anyone illegally in the U.S. to self-deport, saying those who qualify “can receive $2,600 and a free flight.”

Those who make a voluntary departure from the U.S. also have a significantly better chance of getting permission to return to the country in the relatively near future versus those who are deported.

Because Moreno-Ramirez missed an April 24 court date, Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah issued a warrant for his arrest last week. However, in a Thursday email to the court, the defendant explained he didn’t know about the hearing.

Following his voluntary departure, “nobody let me know that I had to show up to court or that I still had a case open for my detention,” Moreno-Ramirez wrote.

Park County Sheriff’s Office records indicated that the warrant remained active on Wednesday.