February 6, 2007 -- A former U.S. Border Patrol agent convicted of shooting a drug smuggling suspect and covering it up is in segregation now in a Mississippi prison, after fellow inmates assaulted him on Saturday night.

Ignacio Ramos started serving his term on Jan. 17, then was transferred to the correctional facility in Yazoo City, Miss., about a week ago.

"His first words were, 'They got me, Monica, they got me good.'" said Monica Ramos, the agent's wife.

Monica Ramos feared this would happened, but she said she had confidence in the prison system.

Ignacio Ramos along with former agent Jose Alsonso Compean were convicted of shooting a drug smuggling suspect then covering it up. Monica Ramos said her husband was in prison in Mississippi only a few days when he became uneasy with other inmates.

"It really escalated after 'America's Most Wanted.' He said they were watching him and shortly after the show he was asked, 'What is your name?'" said Monica Ramos.

Monica Ramos said her husband explained he let his guard down. He said he was sleeping when several inmates attacked him.

"He just had to curl up. They started beating him, he said they just started kicking him. He said he felt a blow to the back of his head," said Ramos.

In a written statement from the Bureau of Prisons, it read Ramos was subsequently placed in the Special Housing Unit pending a thorough investigation of the incident. It also stated Ramos was evaluated by staff at the institution who determined he had suffered some bruises and abrasions, minor in nature.

The facility is a medium-and-low security prison where Ramos was an inmate in the general population, an agreement his wife said was only fulfilled half way.

"It was an agreement. My husband said he'd go into general population. He also was in agreement that it would be in a white-collar facility," said Ramos.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., a vocal supporter of the agents, criticized the Bush administration on Tuesday for failing to protect Ramos and demanded a full presidential pardon for both men convicted.

In an exclusive KFOX interview with President George W. Bush last month, he said he had no intention to pardon them in the near future.

But Monica Ramos said she's thinking about the present and is glad her husband has been segregated.

"He's being protected right now. I can sleep better knowing he's not in general population," said Monica Ramos.

KFOX did not have the opportunity to ask questions to the spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons. KFOX wanted to know what type of offenders are held in the Yazoo City facility and why Ignacio Ramos was place with the general population.