For more 15 years Ramirez has been an activist for farmworkers and immigrant rights. She is currently acting deputy director at Centro del los Derechos del Migrante, Inc. (Center for Migrant Rights), based in Baltimore, Md. She was senior staff attorney and project director of Esperanza: The Immigrant Women's Legal Initiative at the Southern Poverty Law Center. She is the daughter and granddaughter of migrant farmworkers.