Meat processing companies targeted in ICE immigration raids awarded millions in state grants
Since 2009, Mississippi taxpayers paid nearly $4 million to help Peco Foods Inc. and Koch Foods, both food processing companies targeted in immigration enforcement raids in early August.
Mississippi offers a variety of economic development programs to businesses, including tax incentives, grants and loans to encourage companies to locate or expand in the state, with the ultimate goal of bringing jobs to Mississippians.
Mississippi Development Authority spokesperson Melissa Scallan said that none of the food processing companies raided in the recent immigration enforcement operation — the nation’s largest in a decade — received traditional tax incentives from the state.
The companies benefited from other incentives awarded to local governments for help with infrastructure improvements, including road construction and water and sewer systems. In some cases, the awards went unspent and returned to the state because either the company or local government could not meet certain requirements.
When taking the unspent funds into account, the state has earmarked close to $9 million for the Peco and Koch companies in the past decade.
Read more: https://mississippitoday.org/2019/08/21/meat-processing-companies-targeted-in-ice-immigration-raids-awarded-millions-in-state-grants/