AUSTIN — South Texas rancher John Allen Aregood got a good news phone call Tuesday alerting him of a presidential pardon that wipes away a felony conviction for hiring unauthorized workers to harvest his watermelon patch 16 years ago.
“I really don't know why or anything. I can't say. It's just a good Christmas present,” Aregood said of the pardon, one of 19 granted by President George W. Bush.
Aregood, of Riviera, is the only Texan on the list.
The small ranching town is about 11 miles south of Kingsville.
Aregood paid a modest fine and served two years of probation after his conviction for aiding and harboring unauthorized immigrants.
Aregood said he has never met Bush.
But quite a few people wrote reference letters to the Justice Department supporting his pardon application, which a friend inside the agency helped advance, he said.
“I had high hopes that it would happen, but I wasn't sure because it was getting close to time for Bush to leave office,” Aregood said.
The rancher said the conviction caused him to lose his hunting privileges because he was not allowed to carry a firearm.
Aregood said he still has about 700 acres of pastureland but is no longer in the watermelon business.