More Illegal Immigrant Swift Workers Get Jail Time


AMARILLO, Texas --
Eight more former workers at a Swift plant in Texas are going to prison after pleading guilty to immigration-related counts. The charges stem from a December raid targeting illegal immigrants working for the Greeley-based meatpacking company.

The sentences handed down Wednesday in Amarillo federal court range from six months to 21 months behind bars.

Seven defendants were sentenced for falsely representing a Social Security number as belonging to them in order to get jobs at Swift. Another was sentenced for returning to the US after being deported.

No charges were ever filed against Swift, which bills itself as the world's second-largest beef and pork processor.

Raids also took place at Swift plants in five other states, including Colorado.

In all, more than 1200 immigrant workers were arrested