Raided poultry plant says it is complying with immigration law

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- One day after federal agents detained 136 of its workers in Missouri as suspected illegal immigrants, poultry processor George's Inc. said it makes every effort to comply with immigration laws and verify that employees are in the country legally.

Armed immigration agents raided a George's poultry plant Tuesday in rural Butterfield, about 60 miles southwest of Springfield, rounding up all workers present during the day shift and checking their identities and documents.

Pete Baird, assistant special agent in charge of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigations office in Kansas City, said most of those arrested were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

ICE spokesman Tim Counts said out of 136 people arrested, 31 were released on the condition that they appear for a hearing, most of them because they were sole caregivers of a child.

The arrests were part of a continuing probe into identity theft and false documents, including stolen Social Security numbers, allegedly used by illegal immigrants, Baird said Tuesday.

Privately owned George's Inc. released a statement Wednesday saying it uses a government database to check if potential new hires are legal residents.

"George's makes every effort to comply with all employment and immigration laws, including voluntary participation in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency's Basic Pilot Program, which verifies the names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers of any prospective employee prior to George's hiring," the company said.

A George's spokesman declined to comment further or to say how many people work at the Butterfield plant. Immigration officials put the plant's work force at several hundred.

Springdale, Ark.-based George's is a regional poultry processor with about 2,300 employees, according to company research service Capital IQ.