The Pilgrim’s Pride plant in Russellville, Alabama, is “operating normally” after multiple people were detained nearby by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
AL.com reported that ICE, which was working with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, arrested about 20 people on September 10 at two checkpoints. The Pilgrim’s plant is between those two checkpoints.
However, a spokesperson for Pilgrim’s Pride, in an email to WATT Global Media, said on the morning of September 12 that the company was not aware of any of its employees being impacted “at this point in time,” and that Pilgrim’s has not been contacted by state or local authorities.
More than 1,000 people work at the Pilgrim’s plant in Russellville, and the company’s spokesperson said, “At Pilgrim’s, we have best-in-class workforce eligibility and compliance standards, and follow all state and federal laws with regard to hiring.”
In August, Pilgrim’s CEO Fabio Sandri said the company is converting the plant from big bird production to no-antibiotics-ever (NAE) production, with the change being made to meet consumer demand and the needs of a key customer.
The plant also underwent an expansion in 2014 as it absorbed some of the operations from the company’s plant in Boaz, Alabama, which closed.
Pilgrim’s Pride, according to information from the WATTPoultry.com Top Poultry Companies Database, is the second largest poultry producer in the United States, having produced 1.51 billion broilers during the past year. The company operates 26 slaughter plants, 33 hatcheries and 27 feed mills. Pilgrim’s Pride also has operations in Mexico and Europe.
