19 admit misusing IDs to work at poultry plant

Nineteen people arrested in immigration raids at Pilgrim's Pride poultry plants pleaded guilty Thursday to misusing Social Security identification to obtain work.

They were all sentenced to time served since their arrests in April and have been turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation.

The 19 illegal immigrants had gotten jobs at the plant in Mount Pleasant by presenting Social Security cards that weren't theirs.

More than 300 people were arrested in the raids at five Pilgrim's Pride plants in Mount Pleasant; Live Oak, Fla.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Batesville, Ark.; and Moorefield, W.Va. More than half of those facing criminal charges worked in Mount Pleasant.

The U.S. attorney's office also announced the guilty plea of a poultry plant worker arrested earlier who was part of a group that sold false identification documents, allowing illegal immigrants to get jobs. German Yepez-Guzman was sentenced to time served on a count of conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with identification documents.

Pittsburg, Texas-based Pilgrim's Pride Corp. is the nation's largest chicken producer.