25 Latino workers face hearings by Homeland Security

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December 9, 2008

Alan Mauldin The Moultrie Observer Tue Dec 09, 2008, 11:39 PM EST

MOULTRIE — All 25 Sanderson Farms workers apprehended last week in Moultrie on charges of violating immigration law had been released by Monday, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman said.

The workers, all of whom are residents of Guatemala and Mexico, were taken into custody Friday as part of a work force site operation, Ivan Ortiz said.

The investigation is continuing and no determination has been made about whether Sanderson Farms will face any sanctions, Ortiz said.

“The company has been fully cooperating in our investigation,” he said.

Sanderson Farms did not return calls made on Friday and Monday seeking comment.

Of the 25 workers who were apprehended, 10 were released for humanitarian reasons because they were the sole caregiver for their children, Ortiz said. The remaining 15 have posted bail.

All of the workers were interviewed prior to their release and will have to appear at hearings.

The action was taken at Sanderson Farms’ processing operation on U.S. Hwy. 133 to determine whether targeted workers had authorization granted by DHS to work legally in the United States, Ortiz said. It did not target all employees but was aimed at specific workers.

He would not say whether a tip from the public led investigators here, but said that information from law enforcement and tips are among the agency’s sources of information.

“We do not conduct random operations,” he said. “These are targeted. We had already identified people we were going to interview. I’m not at liberty to discuss how we began this operation.”

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