Berry Global Group Inc. and five other organizations in Indiana are being investigated by state Attorney General Todd Rokita as part of a probe into alleged labor trafficking networks.
Rokita has sent civil investigative demand letters to Berry, along with a group that connects refugees to jobs, a Christian refugee nonprofit and three local school, economic development and health agencies.
Citing strains on local schools and housing, and concerns over health and safety, Rokita said in a statement that he's "investigating coordinated efforts among international and local nonprofit 'refugee resettlement' organizations and employers to bring large numbers of migrants to Indiana communities."
Berry, which is based in Evansville, Ind., declined to comment.
But a newly elected state representative from Evansville — who also works for Berry — said immigrants have helped staff unfilled manufacturing jobs and argued that the community has embraced the efforts.
"The southwest Indiana economy is thriving and we're not taking advantage of anyone here illegally or doing anything that is unethical," said Alexander Burton, a former Evansville city council member who won a seat in November in the state legislature.
Burton said he was speaking in his capacity as a state representative for Evansville and not on behalf of Berry, one of the largest plastics packaging makers in the U.S. Burton is a workforce development manager for Berry.
"We have lots of manufacturing jobs that have gone unfilled and those new to America have, in essence, stepped up to the plate to ensure that southwest Indiana's economy continues to thrive," Burton said. "This is certainly something that our community has embraced. It's not coming from a place of divisiveness."
Berry, which employs 46,000 people at more than 250 global locations, has publicized its efforts to hire refugees and said more than 150 refugees were placed in a company-sponsored integration program in the U.S. last year.
The other groups named as receiving civil investigative demand letters by Rokita are the Cass County Health Department, the Logansport Community School Corp., Tent Partnership for Refugees, the ministry God is Good and the Jackson County Industrial Development Corp.