According to local immigration activists, the children were mostly from Guatemala and were employed by Gerber’s Poultry at a facility that processed meat and provided sanitary conditions.
According to local immigration advocates who talked to NBC News under the condition of anonymity earlier this month, federal authorities discovered more than two dozen juveniles working illegally inside a chicken business in Kidron, Ohio.
According to the advocates, the majority of the children were from Guatemala. They were employed in the meat-processing and sanitation departments of a Gerber’s Poultry facility that makes Amish Farm Chicken, which is marketed under the tagline “Better feed, better taste.”
When questioned about the presence of children working at the plant, Marisa Darden, a lawyer for Gerber, declined to comment. We don’t have any comments at this time, she told NBC News. We are working together, but we are unable to discuss it.
Immigration advocates in the area claim that on October 4, early in the evening, agents from the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations encircled the plant and blocked access to and exit from it.
A current employee who was at the factory the night of the raid and spoke with the FBI agents present was interviewed by NBC News. He declined to give his name because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The employee claimed that when agents visited the plant about 9:00 p.m., they asked for employees’ identification, inquired about plant sanitation, and remained there for the majority of the night.
According to an apparent video of the operation released on TikTok, the agents started dividing large groups of workers into lines. According to the films, several of the employees were afraid they would be detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement as part of a raid.
According to immigration advocates, the agents photographed the individuals and questioned them about where they obtained the identification that proved they were of legal age and permitted to work in the United States. Additionally, a questionnaire in Spanish, English, and Guatemalan native tongues was provided for them to complete.
Local resident Dany Ceto, whose relatives work at the company, told NBC News that when he spotted FBI officers encircling the facility, he initially believed there was an immigration raid going on. According to him, kids work the second shift at the plant because it fits with their academic schedule.
According to numerous witnesses who saw the operation, no arrests were made at the time.
Who manages the plant’s sanitation is not immediately apparent. Outside companies frequently handle sanitation at meat and poultry processing facilities.
A request for comment from the FBI was ignored, and HSI rejected it.
The greater risk of harm from hazardous machines and chemicals makes it illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to work in meatpacking operations under U.S. labor law. Recently, a 16-year-old Guatemalan kid who was employed in a Mississippi chicken plant was killed.
The 69% increase in child labor in the US since 2018 has previously been covered by NBC News, in particular among young people from Guatemala who have just emigrated and are working in the meatpacking and sanitation of meatpacking factories.
The immigration activists working with the Guatemalan community in and around Kidron, which is close to Canton, assert that they think some of the kids were made to labor by unrelated adults who were housing them and stealing some or all of their income.
Others have voluntarily entered the fields of meat processing and abattoir hygiene in order to support themselves, according to the campaigners.