No Immigrant Raids For The Well-Connected

Recent U.S. government raids and deportations of illegal aliens have targeted large companies and their executives, but a giant Arkansas meat-processing plant that openly hires undocumented employees has been suspiciously exempt. Could it have anything to do with its strong ties and hefty monetary contributions to Bill and Hillary Clinton?

Arkansas-based Tyson Foods, the world’s largest meat processing company, has somehow managed to escape the Department of Homeland Security raids even though it is well-known for hiring illegal aliens. Tyson even closed 15 plants on Monday to allow them to march in the so-called May Day Immigrant boycott.

Only a few weeks ago, federal officials arrested nearly 1,200 workers nationwide for failing to provide legal documents and charged seven company managers with hiring illegal immigrants. Among them was Houston-based IFCO Systems as well as a variety of other big firms.

The feds have yet to visit the Tyson Foods plant. It is difficult not to question government inaction with the company bragging about its illegal immigrant workers and strong support of the May 1 boycott. It is has been well-documented that many of the poultry supplier’s 60,000 employees are not in the country legally.

Other interesting facts about Tyson are their scandals over the past decade, especially the one involving one of its lobbyists and Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Espy, who halted tougher new chicken inspection programs in exchange for gifts from Tyson executives. Tyson ended up paying $6 million in fines and Espy lost his job and was convicted. Of course, Clinton pardoned his good pal Espy as he left the White House.

Then their is the time in 1979 when Hillary Clinton got an unheard of return of $100,000 out of a $1,000 investment in the commodities market thanks to the guidance of a powerful Tyson Food attorney. Initially, the then-first lady said she made the trades herself but eventually admitted that the Tyson attorney, James Blair, did it for her.

Jim Kouri of Mich News asks why the feds aren’t frog-walking Tyson Foods executives and points out that the company’s head honchos are, not only tight with the Clintons, but also President George W. Bush.