Immigration officials arrest 100 at Cassville-area plant

At an afternoon news conference at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Hammons Tower, 901 St. Louis St., U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said the plant employees were taken into custody as part of an ongoing investigation into identity fraud and employment of illegal immigrants. The investigation is part of a nationwide effort to combat the unlawful employment of undocumented workers, officials said.

About 100 officers with ICE, the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, U.S. Marshals and the Missouri Highway Patrol served the warrants at the processing plant in Butterfield, north of Cassville, said Pete Baird, assistant special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Kansas City.

Baird said previous federal indictments of five individuals for alleged Social Security fraud and firearms violations are linked to the warrants served at the plant today, but he declined to elaborate on the connections.

“This case is particularly troubling due to the existence of Social Security and identity fraud in addition to the numerous immigration-related violations,” Baird said in a news release.

Most of the people arrested today are from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, and Baird said several were conditionally released for humanitarian reasons such as child care. Officials said a specific breakdown of those arrested would be available Wednesday.

An ICE officer handling the detention and deportation of those arrested today said they were being processed in Springfield and would later be transported to jails in Kansas City, St. Louis and Wichita, Kan. Detainees will appear before a federal immigration judge in Kansas City unless they waive their rights to a hearing, he said.

There are no charges pending against George’s, which is based in Springdale, Ark. Company spokesman Glen Balch did not immediately return a call seeking comment.