Trump recognized Mike Hurst as the U.S. attorney for Mississippi’s Southern District from the stage that night. Trump described Hurst as “a man who’s been remarkable.” Trump said Hurst was “a man who’s been spectacular.” Hurst was also a key figure in recent raids that saw federal agents arrest nearly 700 workers from Mississippi meat processing plants. Hurst, a 43-year-old Hickory resident who ran for the office of state attorney general four year ago, has been one Mississippi’s most powerful law enforcement officers when it comes to pursuing illegal immigrants. Hurst is less aggressive when it comes to prosecuting businesses. Documents show that Hurst did not pursue a prominent Mississippi club that admitted to hiring undocumented migrants. Between 2006 and 2015, Hurst worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney in Jackson on cases involving public corruption. An analysis of the 306 criminal cases where Hurst was identified as the only or lead prosecuting attorney during that time shows that around 40% of them were immigration-related. This includes violations like illegal re-entry and harboring undocumented persons. Court records show that Hurst only criminally prosecuted four businesses out of the approximately 125 immigration cases he handled. Immigration-rights activists and critics of Trump Administration policies have questioned whether five companies that employed workers at the seven plants last week were also criminally liable. Federal agents raided plants owned by A & B Inc. and Koch Foods, Pearl River Foods Foods, Peco Foods, and PH Foods Inc. Hurst, who was asked by Mississippi Today about possible charges against food processors that knew the workers weren’t documented, replied via e-mail: “I can’t comment on that question because this is an ongoing criminal probe. However, I can tell that we have always prosecuted employers, owners, and companies when evidence has been presented to show beyond a reasonable doubt that they had violated federal criminal law. The severity of punishment for those business owners has not always been the same. Three of these cases saw managers or owners of the businesses sentenced to imprisonment. The Justice Department handled the case against Country Club of Jackson regarding undocumented immigrants differently. A 2008 agreement with federal authorities did not name any leaders of the country club. This private organization also has a nonprofit arm registered with state. However, the club acknowledged that it had hired undocumented immigrants. All charges against the club were dropped after a period of two years in which they were not charged with violating the law again. Even though the charges against the country club were dropped, it was found that the club had “knowingly hired and continued to hire illegal aliens” as well as “operated willingly and knowingly with intent to deceive Social Security Administration.” The document stated that the country club “accepts and accepts responsibility for its conduct.” Hurst called this case the Jackson Country Club case because it was the first immigrant-related prosecution of any business in the Southern District. He quoted Lampton’s statement, which he was a George W. Bush appointee and who died in 2011, as stating: “Due lack of emphasis, our federal Immigration laws haven’t been traditionally or consistently enforced against employers. This is changing in the Southern District Mississippi. This agreement should be considered a temporary occurrence that will serve as a warning to employers across the state that this office will vigorously prosecute employers who violate federal immigration laws. In three other cases, business owners who were accused of hiring illegal workers were sent to prison or placed in federal custody. Gin Hsing Chen, the operator of two Flowood Asian restaurants, pleaded guilty in a case involving hiring illegal aliens. She was sentenced to 12 month federal custody, supervised release for one-year, and fined $72,000. Karl Kwok Hing Wong was also sentenced in the same case. He was placed on supervised release for 2 years and fined $5,000. In the same case Shao Li Chen was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, two years of supervised release, and a $5,000 fine. Jose Humberto Gonzalez was the Howard Industries personnel manager. He received five years probation and six months home confinement. Also, he was fined $4,000 for conspiracy to violate immigration laws. Federal agents raided the Jones County factory in 2008, taking 600 people into custody. It was the most extensive raid on immigration in the state’s history. Paul Love and Barbara Love, both of Love Irrigation Ridgeland, were sentenced to confinement. Paul Love was sentenced to 21 months in prison, three years of supervised probation, and a fine of 5,000. Barbara Love was placed in home confinement for 30 days and supervised probation for three years. According to court documents, the Jackson Country Club case began in May 2006 when the Social Security Administration sent a notice to the Club stating that 43 people were employed by the Club whose names and identities did not match Social Security records. In August 2006, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement presented to the Country Club. Later that month, officials from the country club informed immigration enforcement officers that the club couldn’t fire all the undocumented workers due to the financial hardship it would cause for the restaurant and golf course. ICE later obtained and executed a judicial search warrant on the country club. It found 49 names of undocumented workers covering a period from May 2000 to August 2006. ICE took 18 undocumented workers into custody and began deportation proceedings against them all. The penalties for the country club were $214,000 According to data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (Syracuse University), Hurst’s tenure was mirrored by the proportion of immigration cases brought against businesses during his tenure as assistant U.S. Attorney. According to the clearinghouse, prosecutions of employers for hiring undocumented workers have been “relatively rare” since 1986 when Congress passed criminal penalties. TRAC’s report showed that only 11 people were charged in seven cases between April 2018-March 2019, while the average number of prosecutions per year has been 15 since 1986. Trump Administration officials have pledged to hold responsible any business owners that may have violated the country’s immigration laws. Matthew Albence, acting director of ICE, released a statement Tuesday saying that “our investigation in Mississippi continues” and that all parties found violating the law will be held responsible. “This includes employers who profit from their crimes.” See our complete coverage of the Mississippi immigration raids. Alex Rozier contributed to the report. Editor’s Note: Mississippi Today received a call from Southern District U.S. attorney Hurst on Thursday, noting that he had also prosecuted two businesses for hiring undocumented immigrants. After Trump appointed him U.S. Attorney in September 2018, his office convicted Cheng Lin, Yan Fei Tang, and Guo Guany Lin over the “harboring illegal aliens” at Meridian’s China Buffet II restaurant. Chen Lin was sentenced 12 months in prison and five years of supervision. Yan Fei Tange was sentenced to six months in prison and three years of supervision release, while Gua Guang Lin was sentenced to six months imprisonment with three years supervision release. Gua Guang Lin was given six months and three year supervised release. The fines and special assessments for the restaurant totaled $600,000. The federal government also took property belonging to the defendants in excess of $700,000. Three people were sentenced to prison in relation to the illegal hiring of workers at Artisan Construction, Gulf Coast, in a case that Hurst was still assisting U.S. attorneys. Randall Weitzel, Gulfport was sentenced to six months imprisonment. He was followed by five months in home confinement and two year supervision. Edwood Brodtmann Jr., of Bay St. Louis, was sentenced to three-years probation and a $5,000 penalty. Agustin Arcadia, of Vancleave, received three months imprisonment. Agustin Arcadia received six months home confinement followed by two years supervised probation. Mississippi Today’s original search found cases in which Hurst was either the sole or lead attorney. He claimed he was co-counsel in the Artisan Construction case along with Gaines Cleveland. Online court records show Cleveland as the lead lawyer. To support this important work, you can make a regular donation to the Spring Member Drive today.