Activists demand accountability in teen's death at Hattiesburg poultry plant

The death of 16-year-old Duvan Perez never should have happened, some community activists say, but justice may not come quickly, if at all, for the teen's family.

Perez, an indigenous Mayan from Guatemala, was killed July 14 during a workplace accident at Mar-Jac Poultry in Hattiesburg. The incident remains under investigation by local and federal authorities. A funeral was held Saturday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

The Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity in Mississippi held a news conference Tuesday to address some of the concerns surrounding Perez's death and the poor working conditions he and others face at Mar-Jac and other similar facilities.

"As allies and national partners, we cannot and must not accept these conditions," said Lorena Quiroz, IAJE founder and director.

Efren Nunez, who also works with IAJE, was in Hattiesburg after hearing of Perez's death, to talk with other immigrant workers. They told Nunez that injuries on the job are commonplace but are not taken seriously when reported to a supervisor or the human resources department.

"I heard reports from many workers who are indigenous Mayans who are made to work double or triple shifts on the job," Nunez said. "The workers shared that the work is heavy and oftentimes dangerous, resulting in injuries."

One worker told him they were given a Band-Aid when the worker showed a serious injury to a superior. That is unacceptable, Nunez said.

"(Public officials) know these things are happening but only do something when it's too late," Nunez said. "We want no more harm to our people."

He said IAJE wants to see the federal agencies take workplace safety violations seriously and offer some assurances to undocumented workers that they will not be punished for reporting safety issues in the workplace.

"They are afraid to come forward because they remember the ICE raids and how the authorities failed to protect them," Nunez said. "We must do better. OSHA needs to make it clear that workers who come forward will not be targeted by ICE once again."

Nearly 700 workers, including several minors, were taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in August 2019.

"The family and the community are terrified to speak out, to speak to government officials, because of the raids, because of the threats and because of the racism that surrounds these small towns in rural Mississippi," Quiroz said.

Nunez said in addition to poor working conditions, immigrant workers are not paid on the same scale as American workers, creating situations where teens must work in unsafe conditions to help their families make ends meet.

It is illegal for minors to work in any hazardous occupation, including meat processing, according to the Federal Code of Regulations and the Fair Labor Standards Act. It is unclear whether the work the teen was doing was hazardous.

But some community leaders say federal officials sometimes look the other way when it comes to enforcing the law.

"Sometimes relationships mean more than actual justice," Quiroz said.

Following the 2019 raids in Mississippi, the Center for Law and Social Policy in Washington, D.C., conducted its first study on the impact of those raids.

"Not only did we uncover the trauma and devastation caused by the single largest worksite raid operation in U.S. history, but also a deeply rooted pattern of abuse and injustice against immigrant workers by the poultry plants across Mississippi," said Wendy Cervantes, CLASP director of immigration and immigrant families. "All workers we spoke with reported unsafe and troubling workplace policies and conditions."

Some of the adverse conditions included long work hours with limited breaks, freezing temperatures, verbal abuse, limited protective gear and other related issues.

"These are work environments that are unfit for adults, much less for minors," Cervantes said. "Four years later, it is clear that not only are workers still subject to dangerous conditions, employers are still not being held accountable."

Cervantes and other panelists at the news conference offered words of comfort to Perez's family, but they also expressed outrage over the poor working conditions that led to the teen's death.

"Duvan's tragic story is unfortunately too common. Too many kids like him are working across the country in inappropriate settings in direct violation of our child labor laws, yet time and time again, blame is placed elsewhere," Cervantes said. "The most outrageous and appalling response is when blame is placed on the children themselves as has been done in Duvan's case.

"Duvan was a victim of irresponsible hiring practices and his case demonstrates the dire need for more effective labor law enforcement."

Mar-Jac Poultry officials declined to comment for this story.

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