A Mississippi poultry plant said Wednesday it had no idea a 16-year-old boy who died in a workplace accident was a minor.
The victim, a Guatemalan immigrant named Duvan Tomás Pérez, died July 14 after becoming entangled in machinery he was cleaning, Mar-Jac Poultry said in a statement.
“The tragedy worsened when we learned that the victim was a minor,” the company said.
Mar-Jac Poultry said it relies on staffing companies to fill positions, and it is a condition of their contracts to verify the ages and immigration status of prospective employees with the Department of Homeland Security and through the Department’s electronic E-Verify system. government.
“Although the investigation is still ongoing, it now appears that this worker was under the age of 18 and should not have been hired,” the company said. “Mar-Jac would never knowingly place any employee, and certainly not a minor, in harm’s way, but it appears, at this point in the investigation, that this individual’s age and identity were misrepresented in the paperwork.”
“The company is conducting a thorough audit with staffing companies to ensure this type of error never happens again,” added Mar-Jac Poultry.
He Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division have opened investigations into the accident. Workers under the age of 18 are not allowed to work in poultry plants because it is considered too dangerous and therefore a violation of child labor laws.
Duvan’s body became trapped on a conveyor belt when police arrived at the facility in Hattiesburg around 7:40 p.m., according to a police report. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Forrest County Deputy Coroner Lisa Klem and several family members told NBC News she was 16 years old.
Duvan was a high school student who came to the United States from the Guatemalan town of Huispache about six years ago, relatives said.
In an interview with Telemundo in Huispache, José Modesto Ramírez Méndez, an uncle of Duvan, said he was told the boy was cleaning equipment when “his entire body was trapped where he couldn’t stop.”
“Nobody was able to help him,” Mendez added.
Mendez said Duvan’s mother objected to him working at the plant.
“The mom didn’t want him to do it, but he decided he wanted to have money on hand,” Mendez said.
A family friend, Cipriano Chun Gabriel, lamented that Duvan’s family immigrated to the US in search of a better life, only to find tragedy.
“He said goodbye to his grandmother, his uncles, his relatives and, unfortunately, he returns in a box,” Gabriel said in an interview with a Guatemalan media outlet. Huispa Mega Vision Ramirez.
Duvan’s death comes as the Biden administration is cracking down on child labor violations involving immigrants.
NBC News reported last month that a federal investigation into Guatemalan children working in the US in violation of child labor laws has expanded to include meatpacking and produce companies that have allegedly hired underage immigrants. in at least 11 states.
