Twenty illegal immigrants taken into custody during a federal raid at a poultry processing plant face state charges, including forgery, authorities said Wednesday.
“They’ve stolen identities and Social Security numbers from others,” Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said.
The 20 being held in a county jail were among 161 illegal immigrants taken into custody Tuesday at Koch Foods plant in southwest Ohio.
Eighty others are in the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency said Wednesday. The remaining 61 were released for reasons that include being a sole caregiver or having medical concerns, agency spokesman Greg Palmore said.
Those released were given notices to appear before an immigration judge at a future date, Palmore said.
The people detained are from eight countries, including Peru, Mexico and Guatemala.
Immigration officials seized documents and other materials at the Koch Foods plant and at Koch Foods Inc.’s Chicago headquarters.
Koch Foods said the company is cooperating with customs enforcement officials.
“As part of our standard employment process, we require employees to provide documentation in accordance with the law, and we have implemented a program to audit this documentation,”the company said in a statement.

source: pal-item.com

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