Bean Station ICE raid: Slaughterhouse owner fined $41K for unsafe working conditions

Matt Lakin, Knoxville News Sentinel
Published 3:25 p.m. ET Aug. 24, 2018 | Updated 4:06 p.m. ET Aug. 24, 2018

Alberto Librado shares his and his family's experiences after his I.C.E. detainment. Caitie McMekin / News Sentinel, Knoxville News Sentinel


(Photo: Travis Dorman / USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee)


A Grainger County slaughterhouse owner faces more than $40,000 in fines for forcing undocumented immigrants to work in dirty, unsafe conditions.

James Brantley agreed last week to plead guilty to federal charges of tax evasion and hiring unauthorized workers. The deal came four months after U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement agents raided the Southeastern Provision meatpacking plant on Helton Road in Bean Station in April and rounded up 97 undocumented immigrants, mostly from Mexico and Guatemala.

Inspectors for the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration visited the plant days after the raid and found 27 violations, according to TOSHA records - 23 of them "serious." Those violations included failure to provide safety glasses and gloves, lack of safety training, unsafe storage and handling of chemicals, lack of hearing protection, failure to provide first aid, not keeping a log of injuries, poor sanitation and failure to provide female employees a separate restroom.

The offenses carry a total fine of $41,775.

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/...nt/1086653002/