Haitian Migrants Working At Meatpacking Plant In Colorado Say Living Conditions Are "Worse Than Being In Jail"

ALABAMA - Cases of migrants across the country that are experiencing sub-par living conditions have been a hot topic so far this year. Either detained at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement centers waiting for a resolution in their asylum request or working at meatpacking plants, migrants continue to experience deplorable living conditions across the United States.

This time around, a Wall Street Journal investigation has revealed that Haitian migrants working at one of JBS's biggest beef plants in the U.S. have reported grim living conditions offered by the company.

JBS Foods, a global food company and the world's largest meatpacking corporation, is under scrutiny after Haitian migrants working in its Northern Colorado plant have reported living conditions that, according to them, are worse than living in jail.

A spokeswoman for JBS, a Brazilian company that has its U.S. headquarters located in Greeley, Colorado, said in an email to the Wall Street Journal that the company found "reports about living conditions unacceptable and alarming." The spokeswoman added that the Greely beef plant recently appointed new human resources leaders and set up new recruitment training programs to ensure compliance with hiring policies.

But according to interviews with dozens of current and former JBS employees and other people involved with the plant's immigrant workers, no changes have been made and some workers are worried that if they complain, they could potentially lose their jobs.

According to accounts by some of the migrants working at the Greeley beef plant, a JBS human resources supervisor arranged for some migrant workers to stay at the Rainbow Motel, which is located a mile down the road from the plant. With up to eight people living in a single room, they say people had to sleep on the floor and cook meals on hot plates on the carpet.

In another example, up to 30 people or more were living in a five-bedroom, two-bathroom unit the company had leased for workers. According to migrants, when the power went out in the winter, they cooked in their coats and they were charged $60 a week in rent.

According to Debbie Berkowitz, a former chief of staff at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, meat companies have relied on plant managers and processing line employees to help recruit immigrant workers. She referred to the practice as an "underground recruitment network," and said it was ripe for exploitation.

That was the case for the JBS Greeley meat plant, where Edmond Ebah and Mackenson Remy took care of hiring and helping out Haitian migrants secure a job —and housing— for Haitian migrants in exchange of compensation.

After The Wall Street Journal approached JBS with questions regarding the treatment of immigrant workers in its Greeley plant, the company opened an investigation.

JBS said it does not charge employees or applicants for services, including transportation, applications or housing. Following the investigation, the plant's HR director and another HR official were fired. Despite JBS suspending Ebah for months, it said no evidence was found that he violated any recruitment policies or was associated with any alleged employee mistreatment.

But as recently as August, some workers said that more than a dozen people were still living in the rental property near the plant.

This goes in line with what migrants detained by ICE have complained about for months all across the country.

Written statements from asylum seekers detained at New Mexico's Torrance County Detention Facility have denounced unfair asylum proceedings, abuse by guards, unfair wages for labor done inside, bug-infested and rotting food as well as dirty drinking water, a lack of sunlight and fresh air and inadequate medical care.

In California, dozens of detainees at ICE's Golden State Annex detention center underwent a hunger strike in July, requesting better living conditions.