91 face charges (Batesville Daily Guard)

91 face charges
Pilgrim’s Pride employees targeted in identity probe

Published: Friday, April 18, 2008

LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Eighteen people arrested as part of a raid on a Batesville poultry plant face misdemeanor charges of entering the country illegally, using faked Social Security numbers and obtaining state identification cards under false names.
Three others face administrative charges of immigration violations after the raid Wednesday at the Pilgrim’s Pride plant, part of a national sweep at company plants in Florida, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia, said U.S. Attorney Jane Duke. As of Thursday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents said they had arrested 311 people sought in the raid and continued to look for more.
Duke said those charged with the misdemeanor counts will appear Monday before Magistrate Judge Beth Deere.
Court papers filed Thursday offered no clues as to who offered the fake Social Security numbers to the workers.
“ICE agents are always working to find the document vendors and this case is no different,” Duke said. “The ‘vendor’ aspect of this case remains under investigation and so I am unable to comment further on that.”
Duke declined to name the three people facing administrative charges.
Court documents accuse each of the 18 people arrested of obtaining fake Social Security numbers, as well as state identification cards or driver’s licenses from Arkansas, California, Kansas, Missouri and Texas. ICE has said those arrested used the identities to obtain work at the Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. plants.
Ray Atkinson, a spokesman for Pittsburg, Texas-based Pilgrim’s Pride, said the company went to ICE agents with information about identity theft at the Batesville plant, which employs about 370 people. Atkinson said no criminal or civil charges have been filed against the company.
Of those arrested, consular officials said only eight were Mexican nationals. The misdemeanor information sheets filed against the 18 people did not list their birth dates or nationalities.
If convicted on all charges, they could face up to 2 1/2 years in prison and $105,000 fines. ICE has said those arrested were being held in the Pulaski County jail.
“The intention of this office in bringing the case is to ultimately deport these individuals,” Duke said. “However, the question of deportation is completely up to the immigration authorities.”
Of those taken into custody during the enforcement action, 91 have been charged so far with criminal violations, including false use of a Social Security number and document fraud. The workers facing criminal charges have been turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. The remaining Pilgrim’s Pride employees are being processed for removal on administrative immigration violations.
All of the individuals arrested Wednesday were interviewed by ICE agents and health care professionals, from the Department of Health and Human Services Division of Immigration Health Services, to determine if they had health, caregiver, or other humanitarian concerns, and to identify possible urgent medical needs. As a result of those interviews, 58 of the workers were processed and released on humanitarian grounds under supervision, pending future immigration proceedings.
The nationalities of those arrested are: Mexico (130), Guatemala (112), Honduras (59), El Salvador (4), Colombia (1), unknown (5).
The management at the affected Pilgrim’s Pride facilities cooperated fully with the arrests. Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., headquartered in Pittsburg, Texas, is one of the largest chicken-processing companies in the United States.
ICE agents have interviewed numerous individuals during the course of the probe whose identities were stolen by Pilgrim’s Pride employees. Those victims described a myriad of hardships they suffered as a result, including mistaken tax liens, denial of medical and social services benefits, and damage to their credit ratings.
Misuse of Social Security account numbers is a felony that carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
After completion of the criminal proceedings, defendants found to have been in the United States illegally will be returned to ICE custody and placed in deportation proceedings.
Those arrested on federal charges in Batesville are in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and are being held at the Pulaski County Detention Center in Little Rock.
ICE has established a toll-free number that family members can call to inquire about a relative’s detention status and the removal process. The number is 1-866-341-3858.