Mariachi Superstar Pepe Aguilar's Son Cops Plea Deal in Human Smuggling Case

Mariachi superstar Pepe Aguilar's son hopes to avoid serious prison time after striking a plea deal for smuggling a Chinese national in the trunk of his car.

Jose Emiliano Aguilar pled guilty to 1 count of failing to present an undocumented alien at the border crossing ... according to docs obtained by TMZ. We broke the story, Emiliano was caught at the border Tijuana border crossing with 4 people in the trunk.

Emiliano potentially could have been hit with 4 counts -- one for each person -- but the plea deal knocks that down to just one. Customs and Border Control had released the photo of his human cargo.

His powerhouse attorney, Jeremy Warren, tells us Emiliano made a huge mistake, takes responsibility and looks forward to being a productive member of society.

His father, Pepe ... is a Grammy-winning singer with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Emiliano's hoping for way less than the 10-year max he could get when he's sentenced in August.