LOGANSPORT, Ind. — State officials are asking Tyson Foods to “answer some tough questions” regarding the alleged employment of “legal migrants and illegal aliens” at their Cass County factory.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced Wednesday that his office is investigating “reported concerns about a large-scale influx of illegal aliens and ‘legal migrants’ into local communities.” Specifically, Rokita wants answers regarding Tyson Foods’ factory in Logansport.
AG Rokita’s investigation
The AG said in a release that his office has sent a civil investigative demand, or CID, to Tyson’s Logansport facility requesting information on “human labor trafficking.” Rokita said he has reasonable cause to believe that Tyson knows about or has documentation of “indecent nuisances” regarding who they employ.
Rokita said that it is “unfair” that Logansport residents must deal with this “growing issue.”
“The vast number of additional people coming into our communities is alarming, and that’s just from the standpoint of seeing the staggering number of resources being put towards this fight – Every. Single. Day,” Rokita said. “We will continue looking into this growing issue.”
The AG’s office said that their investigation will focus on the “coordinated efforts among international and local nonprofit ‘refugee settlement’ organizations” and employers like Tyson that reportedly bring in large numbers of migrants to Indiana.
In addition to sending Tyson a CID, investigative requests have reportedly also been sent to:
- The Cass County Health Department,
- Logansport Community School Corp.
- Berry Global Group Inc.
- Tent Partnership for Refugees
- God is Good
- Jackson County Industrial Development Corp.
AG Rokita said that his office is conducting these investigations under Indiana’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act and the indecent nuisance statute. According to the CID, Tyson Foods has until Dec. 4, 2024, to respond in writing.
Previous reporting
Before Rokita’s announcement, the influx of new people coming to the city had some government officials speaking out — believing the current growth is not sustainable.
In an October report on the growing issue in Logansport, FOX59/CBS4’s Angela Ganote spoke with local school officials who said that they believe teenage migrants living in Logansport were working the third shift at a local employer. They would not clarify whether that employer was Tyson.
One young migrant who spoke with Ganote said that 16-year-olds were working at Tyson. When pushed for more information, the teen said he meant to say 18. When we reached out to the local union for Tyson employees, officials said that the factory’s third shift is for cleaning and that Tyson Foods does not technically employ those workers.
Tyson’s response
A Tyson Foods spokesperson said in October that the company does not allow anyone under the age of 18 to work at their facilities. They also said that Tyson does not “facilitate, excuse or in any way participate in the use of child labor.”
For Tyson’s full statement, read below:
“Tyson Foods has been a proud member of the Logansport community for over 20 years, employing more than 2,000 team members. Our team member population has remained similar for many years, and we have not been actively recruiting new team members. Everyone working at our facility is legally authorized to do so, and the majority of those team members are American citizens or permanent residents of the United States. We do not allow the employment of anyone under the age of 18 in any of our facilities, and we do not facilitate, excuse or in any other way participate in the use of child labor. We take the enforcement of all labor laws very seriously, and we have procedures in place to verify the age of all team members, and fully participate with the federal government’s E-Verify and IMAGE programs.“
– Tyson Foods spokesperson
In addition, the company said that they have done good for the community in Logansport. Their involvement in the community includes donating 20,000 pounds of protein to local food pantries, funding local high school scholarships and giving $300,000 to local charities.
Furthermore, Tyson Foods said that the company contributes to the Logansport economy by spending over $100 million in payroll at the facility each year.
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