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The
Dallas
Morning News
dallasnews.com
Immigration agents raid Pilgrim's Pride plants
By DIANNE SOLIS, from
the Web, April 16, 2008
Workers at Pilgrim's Pride Corp., the
world's largest poultry company, were the target Wednesday of federal
immigration arrests on identity theft charges at five plants, including one in
Mt. Pleasant, Texas.
The arrests were coordinated with the U.S. Attorney's Office, said Carl Rusnok,
a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The criminal
investigation involves administrative charges, as well as criminal charges, ICE
officials said in a written statement.
The other plants raided were in Live Oak, Fla.; Moorefield, West Va.;
Batesville, Ark.; and Chattanooga, Tenn.
Filiberto Nava, a night shift worker at the Mt. Pleasant plant, said he wasn't
worried by the raids because he is legally working in the U.S. But agents
knocked at doors and "even went inside houses," Mr. Nava said.
Federal officials wouldn't confirm the number of arrests made. In some
cases, ICE officials are going to individual residences, as well as plant sites.
"They are going to do it either at their place of residence, or work," Mr.
Rusnok said.
Mr. Rusnok said that staff from ICE's Division of Immigrant Health Services
would be interviewing those who are sole caregivers and to "identify
humanitarian concerns," Mr. Rusnok said. He declined to elaborate further.
"This is an operation targeting specific individuals who are suspected of
engaging in identity theft," Mr. Rusnok said. "Pilgrim's Pride cooperated
fully with our execution of today's operation."
At corporate headquarters in Pittsburg, Texas, Pilgrim's Pride spokesman Ray
Atkinson said it was the poultry plant that first alerted ICE officials of a
problem at its Batesville, Ark., plant.
"We were aware of it, and we have cooperated fully with the government," Mr.
Atkinson said.
Pilgrim's Pride also participates in a federal government program to voluntarily
check Social Security numbers against workers' names in two government
databases, Mr. Atkinson said. The program is known as E-Verify.
"Unfortunately, it does not detect ID theft situations," Mr. Atkinson said.
Pilgrim's Pride racked up $7.6 billion in sales last year and netted $47 million
in net income. And it has lobbied hard for an overhaul of the nation’s
immigration laws.
At the same time, it has continually faced scrutiny by federal agents over its
workforce. Four months ago, criminal charges were levied against about two
dozen workers at Pilgrim's Pride's East Texas plants. They were accused of
selling or using stolen or fake work documents, according to a criminal
complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, in
December.
U.S. Homeland Security Department officials have worked to improve identity
theft detection via federal legislation, but that legislation hasn't passed.
Citing federal law, the Social Security Administration has resisted sharing
certain information about Social Security numbers that is gathered during the
payment of federal taxes.
Federal immigration raids have been on the rise for the last two years. On
Wednesday, federal immigration agents also raided a Houston doughnut plant and
arrested almost 30 suspected illegal immigrants, according to the Associated
Press.
The agents and Harris County sheriff's deputies arrived about 5 a.m. Wednesday
at the Shipley Do-Nuts dough factory.
The four-block plant prepares dough for use at Shipley's Houston-area doughnut
shops and includes a dormitory for workers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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