SPRINGDALE, ARK. – Tyson Foods announced that it would invest an additional $1.5 million in free legal and citizenship services for immigrant employees. 

The meat processor said it invested more than $2.4 million in the past two years to support partners like the Immigrant Connection, a non-profit organization providing legal services to immigrants. 

Tyson shared that it doubled the legal services offered to US workers since 2020, helped more than 500 people with citizenship status, and counseled 2,500 more workers in need of legal services. The company also increased the reach of its Tyson Immigration Partnership (TIP) in April 2022 to include 40 facilities in 14 states. 

“I am thankful to Tyson Foods and the Immigration Partnership Program. I am now an American citizen, proud to be able to vote for the first time in a country I lived in and called my home for the last 12 years,” said Johanna Soderstrom, executive vice president, chief people officer at Tyson. “This is a wonderful benefit available to all Tyson team members and their family members.”

Tyson said it spent millions to provide ESL and citizenship classes through Upward Academy.

“Tyson Foods has supported me and my family for nearly nine years; giving us jobs and benefits we could never dream of,” said Paw Lar, a Tyson Foods employee in Clarksville, Ark. “I was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and didn’t know what to expect when we got to the United States. After going through the immigration program at Tyson Foods, I finally feel like I belong somewhere and I’m extremely proud to be a US citizen.”

Given its commitment to assisting immigrant workers, Tyson was recently recognized with the Keepers of the American Dream award at the Leading the Way Conference for the National Immigration Forum in Washington, DC.

“Nearly 20 years ago, I had the pleasure of supporting newly arrived refugee employees at a Tyson facility in West Virginia as a refugee resettlement practitioner,” said Jennie Murray, chief executive officer at the National Immigration Forum. “Since then, including with today’s announcement, Tyson Foods has continued to be one of our nation’s most welcoming and inclusive employers of immigrants and refugees. We are thrilled to honor Tyson Foods with the Keepers of the American Dream award for their innovative work and to continue to promote their best practices.”