On May 12, U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided meat plants in Iowa and arrested 390 suspected illegal immigrants and agriprocessors.
The main investigative branch of the Department of Homeland Security, has lately been targeting businesses with high concentrations of illegal workers.
This crackdown follows a raid conducted on April 16, on Pilgrim's Pride, the nation's largest chicken producer.
On that day, Pilgrim's Pride was raided for immigration identification scam. More than 300 workers at the company's plants were arrested in five different states across the South ( 45 in Mount Pleasant, Texas; more than 100 in Chattanooga, Tennessee; 100 in Moorefield, West Virginia; more than 25 in Live Oak, Florida and more than 20 in Batesville, Arkansas). According to TIME magazine, one-third were quickly charged with identity theft crimes.
Overall, nearly 5,000 workers were arrested in 2007, which corresponds to an 855% increase since ICE's debut in 2003.
