Reveal: "Immigrants on the Line"
Podcast by the Center for Investigative Reporting & PRX
Episode Date: October 11, 2025
Host: Al Letson
Key Reporters and Guests: Ted Genoese (Food & Environment Reporting Network), Chelli Moyes (UFCW7 Union Rep), Kim Cordova (UFCW7 President), Mackensen Remy (Haitian recruiter), Auguste (worker, alias)
Overview
This episode of Reveal investigates the difficult and precarious lives of Haitian immigrants working in the U.S. meatpacking industry, focusing on the JBS plant in Greeley, Colorado. The episode traces the journey of Haitian migrants lured by the promise of good jobs and security, only to face dangerous conditions, overcrowded and squalid housing, and now, mass threat of deportation due to changes in U.S. immigration policy under President Trump’s second term. The reporting explores abuses within the meatpacking industry, the failings of company oversight, the economic dependency of American meat production on immigrant labor, and the personal toll of shifting immigration policy.
Key Discussion Points & Segment Timestamps
1. The Political Context and TPS Cancellation [02:19–06:26]
- Al Letson sets the stage: independent journalism is under threat, reaffirming the mission of Reveal.
- Introduction to Chelli Moyes, a Haitian with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and how Trump’s administration ended TPS, threatening to displace hundreds of thousands of Haitians.
- Chelli Moyes: “This is the first time I feel like, you know, this is really happening for real.” [03:49]
- TPS is granted due to Haiti’s ongoing instability: violence, disasters, and lack of basic services.
- Many Haitian workers in meatpacking could be forced out despite fleeing danger at home.
2. The Pipeline to Meatpacking Jobs: Social Media Recruitment [06:54–15:22]
- Ted Genoese revisits the TikTok video that inspired the influx of Haitian workers.
- Mackensen Remy's viral TikTok promises jobs at JBS, decent pay, and even accommodations [07:52].
- “They pay good. They pay like 22 and $23 an hour.” [07:52]
- “If you come, you can have a job.” [08:30]
- The JBS HR supervisor, Edmond Iba, is portrayed as an immigrant success story, appearing in company videos.
- Sudden explosion in interest and arrivals following the viral video; insufficient arrangements for housing.
3. Squalid Living Conditions & Hidden Exploitation [15:22–25:06]
- Workers, many new arrivals, packed into tiny rooms at the Rainbow Motel or in overcrowded houses.
- Auguste's journey: from Haiti through the Darien Gap, finally to Greeley, facing hunger and desperate living conditions.
- Chelli Moyes: “We had people saying I was starving for two to three days because I don't know where to go get food.” [20:01]
- Extreme crowding, lack of food, and privacy; even the “improved” housing (the house) had severe problems.
- The work itself is brutal, dangerous (loss of limbs common), and speeds are being pushed ever higher for profit.
4. Industrial Abuse: Unsafe Work & Human Trafficking Allegations [23:00–26:20]
- JBS’s “White Bone” program accelerates production at the expense of safety.
- Kim Cordova, UFCW7 president: “The line speeds were really increasing to line speeds we had never seen before.” [23:23]
- Chelli Moyes: “At some point we had 430.” [24:03; refers to cows processed per hour]
- Workers forced to sign away injury claims in languages they don’t speak, bills go unpaid, mail is withheld, bathroom breaks denied.
- Auguste: “I feel like I was being treated as a slave.” [26:06]
5. Fallout: Allegations Go Public & JBS Responds [27:46–34:29]
- Wall Street Journal exposes the situation; Mackensen Remy is publicly blamed by some migrants, accused of taking money (he denies this).
- “Some of them, they said, GBS, give me $3,000 for each of them.” [28:37]
- “I didn't charge anyone for job. No, I'm not a criminal.” [28:44]
- JBS claims ignorance; fires HR managers, relocates Edmond, bans Mackensen—but union and reporters find proof of company knowledge.
- Kim Cordova: “We have been dealing with what we believe is human trafficking and exploitation of these workers.” [34:29]
- Union’s complaints to OSHA and NLRB allege systematic abuse and a cover-up by JBS.
6. Systemic Industry Problems & Economic Reality [35:20–43:15]
- COVID-19 pandemic revealed deep vulnerabilities and maltreatment in meatpacking.
- Worker walkouts led to better contracts—but also to a cycle of firings and extremely high line speeds for new, replaceable workers.
- Deportation threats now destabilize the workforce; the meat industry, heavily immigrant, would collapse without these workers.
- Kim Cordova: “The industry would collapse without these type of workers.” [42:16]
- Deportation would likely drive up grocery prices, despite campaign promises to lower them.
7. Deportation Threats & Uncertain Futures [43:40–53:16]
- Trump administration targets both undocumented and legally present immigrants.
- A judge extends the deportation deadline for Haitians to February 2026, but the community is frightened and unsure.
- Chelli Moyes: “We are not really criminals. I mean, a lot of us are in this country. We've never really had not even a speeding ticket. I'm coming here to work.” [45:25]
- JBS fires 300–400 Haitian workers, replacing them (mostly with Somali immigrants).
- Bryce Downer (immigration lawyer): Companies now aggressively check documentation due to government scrutiny. [47:28]
- Al Letson: “I guess when you're this big, it's pretty easy to fire a few hundred Haitians. Just like that.” [51:45]
- Chelli and Auguste managed to file for asylum after getting new (but soon-to-expire) work permits; most have no backup plan.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- Chelli Moyes: “If I ask for a break to go to the bathroom, I will not get it.” [25:01]
- Auguste: “I feel like I was being treated as a slave.” [26:06]
- Kim Cordova: “We have been dealing with what we believe is human trafficking and exploitation of these workers.” [34:29]
- Kim Cordova: “The industry would collapse without these type of workers.” [42:16]
- Chelli Moyes: “I think it's just hatred against people with different skin color because that's the only logical thing that I can actually see deporting everyone. I don't see how he can benefit. Honestly, I don't see.” [43:15]
- Chelli Moyes: “I can only wait, and I can only hope things get better. You know, we hope something better comes.” [53:09]
Flow & Tone
The episode seamlessly blends hard-hitting investigative reporting with deeply personal stories, maintaining a direct, urgent, and empathetic tone. It puts listeners in the shoes of immigrant workers, offers context for systemic abuses, and calls out the contradictions in U.S. policy and economics.
For Listeners New to the Story
"Immigrants on the Line" pulls back the curtain on how America’s meat supply is built on the backs of immigrant labor—often newcomers with precarious legal status, who are manipulated, endangered, and then discarded at will. It’s a story of courage, exploitation, and survival amid shifting political winds.
Key Segments & Timestamps:
- [02:19] – Political climate, TPS cancellation for Haitians
- [06:54] – TikTok recruitment and influx to Greeley
- [15:22] – Arrival at Rainbow Motel, first-hand accounts
- [23:00] – Unsafe working conditions, White Bone program
- [27:46] – Wall Street Journal exposé & JBS response
- [35:20] – Structural industry issues post-Covid
- [43:40] – Present-day impact as deportation deadline nears
- [46:01] – Mass firings, replacement with other immigrants
- [50:02] – Legal complaints stalled, companies avoiding liability
- [52:06] – Paths forward: asylum applications, lay-low strategies
Final Thoughts
This episode underscores the impossibility of a meatpacking industry—and by extension a food system—without immigrant labor, even as those very workers are criminalized, marginalized, and perpetually at risk. Through intimate voices and relentless reporting, Reveal presses for accountability and awareness of ongoing exploitation hidden deep within America’s supply chain.