KIDRON, Ohio — 3News has received a statement from the Wayne County poultry plant where federal agents found more than two dozen minors working earlier this month.
The raid, which happened on Oct. 4 in Kidron, was confirmed through NBC News.
They reported that more than two dozen children — mainly Guatemalan — were identified as underaged workers at a Kidron plant run by Gerber's Poultry, known for producing Amish Farm Chicken.
Local immigration advocates informed NBC News that Homeland Security and FBI agents surrounded the plant, shutting down all traffic into and out of the plant.
One worker said agents organized them into large groups, and asked for identification, where they got their documents from, and if they were legally allowed to work in the U.S. They also asked them to fill out a questionnaire.
Geronimo Ramirez, a Guatemalan who lives a half-hour away and is President of Comunidad Sol en Ohio, was called by panicking friends to come witness, and help if possible.
"They told me that the FBI agency, they went in there talking to them, shouting like if they were criminals. They were hitting the walls, and saying, 'They are beating me. They are hitting me, and they only speak English,'" he shared with 3News. "They were separating the kids like they were criminals and putting them apart and it was cold. It was very scary. The kids were crying. The people were crying.”
While Ramirez calls minors working at poultry plants "dangerous," he wants Northeast Ohioans to be compassionate towards these kids, many who have fled political persecution in Guatemala.
"Guatemala is right now in a political crisis," he explained.
Christy Staats of the National Immigration Forum is also sympathetic.
"I think one of the important things that we have is a heart of compassion, having compassion for why people are fleeing their homelands," she said. "People are leaving because of really unfathomable circumstances that we can't comprehend."
Both she and Ramirez are advocating for more resources for these children, as well as immigration reform.
On Monday, a spokesman for Gerber's Poultry sent 3News the following statement:
"At Gerber’s Poultry, we take the legal employment and safety of all individuals who work for and with our company very seriously. We have formal identity verification procedures in place and dedicate significant resources to ensure that Gerber’s Poultry employees and contractors are legally authorized to work. We also have strict policies against hiring minors in accordance with industry guidelines, rules and laws. As such, we were surprised to learn that our Kidron, Ohio plant is the subject of inquiry from federal law enforcement regarding the composition of our employees and some third-party contract employees. We are fully cooperating with that investigation. While we have confidence in our process to ensure we comply with all federal regulations to verify eligibility for employment, we are actively reviewing our policies to ensure compliance at every level and will continue to review our relationships with third party vendors and their policies in similar fashion."
3News also got a statement from Ohio State Senator Al Landis, who serves the Kidron area:
“This is disturbing and cannot be tolerated. I feel for the families and the children being preyed upon. There are strict forms that need to be followed regarding I9 documentation to either prove a potential employee is either an American citizen or has the proper documentation to be here working. It’s important to let law enforcement work through the investigation, however I fear there will be more of these cases as a consequence of failing to secure the border.”
NBC News said the FBI did not respond to a request for comment and Homeland Security Investigations declined to comment.
