December 28, 2001
		Tyson Indicted in Illegal Immigrant Scheme - Conspiracy More Vast Than Previously Thought Two Tyson Foods executives and four managers have been indicted on charges of conspiracy to smuggle illegal immigrants to work at its U.S. slaughterhouses as a scheme to boost profits, the Justice Department disclosed on December 19. The 36-count indictment was unsealed in federal court in Tennessee. The indictment stemmed from a 2 1/2-year undercover investigation by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) into Tyson's business practices, revealed the Justice Department. The company has denied the charges, and Ken Kimbro, Tyson's senior vice president of human resources, said in a statement, "The prosecuter's claim in this indictment of corporate conspiracy is absolutely false." Kimbro further maintained that the charges were "limited to a few managers who were acting outside of company policy at five of our 57 poultry processing plants." Tyson officals have said that four of the six managers named in the charges have been fired, and the remaining two are on executive leave. The Justice Department revealed that 15 plants in nine states have been implicated in a conspiracy in which workers were illegally transported from Mexico into the U.S. The indictment maintains that the Arkansas-based chicken giant created a corporate culture in which the hiring of illegal immigrant workers was condoned to meet heavy production goals and cut costs to maximize profits. The scheme dates back to 1994. The INS charged that Tyson preferred hiring illegal immigrants because they felt pressure to be more productive and were less likely to complain to management about cruel working conditions and lack of benefits. Tyson's shares fell on the news about the scandal, closing down 73 cents o $10.86 on the New York Stock Exchange. In related news, a Reuters article from December 20 reported on the evidence that slaughterhouse workers of all variety are largely comprised of illegal immigrants. "This is the tip of the iceburg," said Dan Stein, executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Refore, "This kind of recruitment and smuggling has been going on for years." Nebraska Beef, Inc. of Omaha has been charged with conspiring to bus dozens of Mexican workers to Nebraska every few weeks to work in the company's beef-packing plant. Several managers and a company owner have also been charged. The case is scheduled to go to trial on April 15. Most experts believe that the number of illegal workers is high, likely over 50 percent in many plants. Of an initial 66 facilities investigated, 40 were found to employ undocumented workers, the INS said.