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A6 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 10 auguSt 2019

Documents: Plant owners ‘willfully’ used ineligible workers

By JEFF AMY other plants at least turned on audits of I-9 forms, which state law requires employ- Louisiana, to process pay-
Associated Press a blind eye to evidence employees fill out when ers to check documents roll and perform some hu-
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Six strongly suggesting job ap- they’re hired, presenting using E-Verify, an otherwise man resource functions,
of seven Mississippi chicken plicants were using fraudu- documents to prove they voluntary online federal sys- and that investigators be-
processing plants raided lent documents and bogus can work legally work. tem. lieved Liang and Carrillo
Wednesday were “willfully tried to use the contractor
and unlawfully” employing to minimize responsibility for
people who lacked au- illegally employing workers.
thorization to work in the Officials earlier stated that
United States, including in addition to the chicken
workers wearing electronic plants, they executed a
monitoring bracelets at search warrant in Louisiana
work for previous immigra- on Wednesday. ICE spokes-
tion violations, according man Bryan Cox declined
to unsealed court docu- Friday to confirm that Per-
ments. sonnel Management had
Federal investigators be- been searched. The com-
hind the biggest immigra- pany didn’t respond Friday
tion raid in a decade relied to a phone message and
on confidential informants email.
inside the plants in addition Search warrants for some
to data from the monitor- other poultry plants also in-
ing bracelets to help make dicate red flags about em-
their case, according to ployees’ status.
the documents. One woman told agents
The sworn statements sup- that a Spanish-speaking
ported the search warrants human resources employ-
that led a judge to autho- ee at Koch Foods in Morton
rize Wednesday’s raids, looked at two different IDs
and aren’t official charges, in three weeks. Ana San-
but give the first detailed tizo-Tapia of Guatemala
look at the evidence in- also told agents that a
volved in what Immigration Koch supervisor asked if she
and Customs Enforcement had an ankle bracelet. Told
officials have described as yes, “he said it was okay,
a yearlong investigation. Handcuffed workers await transportation to a processing center following a raid by U.S. immigration but she needed to keep
Officials arrested 680 peo- officials at Koch Foods Inc., plant in Morton, Miss. it charged,” according to
ple during Wednesday’s Associated Press the warrant.
operation . Three Demo- The supervisor “stated that
cratic congressmen on Fri- Social Security numbers. Investigators allege the Calls to A&B and PH Food he knew ‘they’ were poor
day demanded that the The documents say elec- most brazen fraud took on Friday went unan- and came to the United
Department of Homeland tronic monitoring bracelet place at two smaller chick- swered. States to work.”
Security and the Depart- data shows people previ- en processing plants — PH The evidence also included Another Koch employ-
ment of Justice produce ously arrested for immigra- Food Inc. in Morton and a video and audio conver- ee said she worked at
information. They want to tion violations and not al- A&B Inc. in Pelahatchie. sation involving secretary one plant in Morton for
know the cost of the raids, lowed to work in the U.S. Sworn statements identify Heather Carrillo and the in- 11 months under a false
whether employers face were working at all seven Huo You Liang of California, formant, recorded May 14 name, and then got a job
criminal charges, whether plants raided. known to Mississippi em- at PH in Morton. A summary at the town’s second Koch
any U.S. citizens were de- There have historically been ployees as Victor, as owner says, “Carrillo said that she plant under her real name
tained, how many parents few criminal convictions for of both. was looking for some ‘pa- after receiving valid U.S.
were separated from chil- hiring people without doc- A PH Food employee, act- pers’ for ‘Iris,’ but ‘Iris wasn’t documents.
dren and whether any still uments because prosecu- ing as a confidential in- going anywhere because Koch said in a statement
remain separated. tors must prove employers formant, told Homeland she was working with Vic- Friday that it has a “strict
The statements unsealed knowingly hired someone Security investigators that tor (Huo You Liang) for a and thorough employment
Thursday allege that man- without legal work authori- the vast majority of the 240 good time (duration of em- verification policy” and
agers at two processing zation. Employers often say employees at PH’s plant in ployment).’” It says Carrillo knows of no managers or
plants owned by the same they were fooled by fraud- Morton and the 80 employ- said A&B manager Salva- supervisors arrested.
Chinese man actively par- ulent documents. ees at A&B’s plant in Pela- dor Delgado didn’t want it A human resources em-
ticipated in fraud. They also From October 2018 to May hatchie didn’t have proper reported because Carrillo ployee at Peco Foods plant
show that supervisors at there were eight new pros- work documents, including knew which of his employ- in Bay Springs plant talked
ecutions for hiring people many Guatemalans. ees were real and which to an ICE informant about
working illegally and four The informant said employ- were fraudulent. people hired twice under
new convictions nation- ees used their real names The agent notes investiga- different names, according
wide. Among those who and made-up Social Se- tors believe Delgado was to the warrant application.
have been sentenced to curity numbers to apply for embezzling money from The human resources em-
prison are the owner of an jobs at PH and A&B. “The A&B by adding fraudulent ployee stated that “Peco
Iowa meatpacking plant payroll companies, as well names and Social Security Foods management does
raided in 2008 and owner as PH Food Inc. and A&B numbers to the payroll and not care.”
of a Tennessee meatpack- Inc. do not verify the au- keeping the proceeds. A Peco spokeswoman
ing plant raided last year. thenticity of their docu- The warrants state PH Food didn’t immediately re-
Companies can also face ments,” the informant told uses Personnel Manage- spond Friday to a request
administrative fines based investigators. Mississippi ment Inc. of Shreveport, for comment.q