http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0705/247145.html

Illegal Immigrants Found Working at Arkansas Plant
Wednesday July 27, 2005 7:24pm Reporter: Michelle Rupp Posted By: Amanda Manatt

Gum Springs - More than 100 illegal immigrants are arrested in Arkadelphia after immigration officials audit the Petit Jean Poultry Plant.

The 119 arrests stem from a February identity theft conviction of an Arkadelphia woman. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation, or ICE, says U.S. birth certificates and social security cards were illegally purchased.

The arrests were made Tuesday at Petit Jean Poultry Incorporated in Gum Springs, just outside of Arkadelphia.

ICE officials say a former employee, Maria Moreno of Arkadelphia, pleaded guilty in February to multiple counts that she sold identity documents and social security cards. Agents also recovered $60,000 in cash from Moreno.

The attorney general’s office says although Arkansans can take precautions, sometimes identity theft is going to happen, no matter how careful you are.

(Matt Decample, attorney general’s office) "Prevention is good, but we have to shift to early detection because your information is in so many places...that sometimes its going to be beyond your control whether or not your identity is stolen."

The majority of the illegal immigrants have already been deported...more than 50 left last night. Officials don't know how Moreno obtained the documents, but do know they didn't come from Arkansas. Court documents show that at least some of the papers came from Arizona and New Mexico.